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Pet Turtles Cause Record Salmonella Outbreak

by Robin Wallace

Browse News

BY CATEGORY:
BY PET:

January 28, 2008

SECAUCUS, N.J. – Pet turtles are the center of a salmonella outbreak. More than 100 cases have been reported in 33 states across the country since August.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, this is the largest recorded outbreak of its kind. At least 24 of the 100 sickened people have been hospitalized.

Some have experienced severe symptoms such as acute kidney failure. But most suffered from bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping, fever and vomiting.

Unfortunately, most of those cases were children, who became sick after coming in contact with the pet turtles.

Bred in crowded conditions, small turtles are prone to carrying the bacteria.

While the infected turtles were purchased at pet shops, flea markets or street vendors, the CDC is still investigating if the outbreak can be traced to a common turtle distributor or farm.

Officials advise that hands always should be washed after touching turtles. Parents should also carefully consider the purchase of small turtles as pets for children.

Although they might be the cutest of small turtles, the “mini turtles” have been prohibited from sale in the U.S since 1975. For more information on this issue, click on the link below.

Tell us what you think under this story. Post your favorite pet videos at the zootooTV tab. E-mail us your story ideas at news@zootoo.com or call us at 877-777-4204.



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health & science, alerts, reptiles

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Maureen B.
Maureen B. (jnamombdnt2)
1 year ago
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Parents should be very careful about the type of pets they bring into the house when they have small children who touch everything and put their hands in their mouth.
 
Sharon L.
Sharon L. (SharonLinch)
1 year ago
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True, maybe get fish and don't let kids touch them, just watch.
 
Anonymous
Anonymous
1 year ago
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Betty l.
Betty l. (BettyL2)
1 year ago
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When my children were young we had 2 of the red-earred slider turtles that our neighbor had gotten from a nearby creek. Fortunately just a few weeks before I happened to see a story about turtles and the importance of NOT placing them in your bath tub or sink and to throw the water down the toliet when changing their tanks and of course always washing everyone's hands after touching the turtles to avoid the salmonella bacteria.
 
Greg K.
Greg K. (gaknott)
1 year ago
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First pot, now turtles.
 
saran814
saran814
1 year ago
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This is one of the reasons why I don't particularly care for people keeping exotic animals as pets. Too many people get these animals without knowing enough about their care and about their own personal safety. Turtles and other reptiles are natural carriers of salmonella species on their skin. They are pathenogenic to us, but not usually for the turtle so you can get it from a healthy turtle. You need to be aware of this and know that you need to wash your hands EVERY time you handle a reptile. It's also a reason that I wouldn't recommend reptile pets for children. They far more likely to play with it without proper hand washing.
 
April R.
April R. (Pixiestixx)
1 year ago
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This is a very quiet situation that people need to be more aware of.
 
Jill P.
Jill P. (rabbitbloom)
1 year ago
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It's like puppy mills for turtles. Of course crowded conditions in breeding facilities make for spread of disease. It just so happens that people can get this particular disease.
 
saran814
saran814
1 year ago
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Actually reptiles are natural carriers of salmonella and it's quite frequently isolated from turtles that are kept alone. They are part of the commensal bacterial population on their skin and the turtle itself is perfectly happy. So please be aware that you should ALWAYS wash your hands after handling a reptile even if it's healthy. The salmonella will make you sick, but it's normal for turtle.
 
Karen H.
Karen H. (Karen1957)
1 year ago
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I feel bad
 
Nancie08
Nancie08
1 year ago
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too many people are unaware of this, it should be on the television news and printed in the daily paper more often.
 
jerri
jerri (supercat)
1 year ago
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Sad story.
 
denisa t.
denisa t. (denisa)
1 year ago
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This is sad. Any pet owner needs to be responsible, which includes teaching your children about handwashing after handling animals.
 
Elineen
Elineen
1 year ago
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Unfortunate.
 
ash3doors
ash3doors
1 year ago
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wow thats crazy! me and my cousin both had them has pets growing up and used to play them all the time pet and wild ones but i never knew about this
 
Carol B.
Carol B. (Bordercolliesrule)
1 year ago
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I don't know about the states involved, but in the DFW metroplex many stores have not sold pet turtles for years and the ones that do warn you about this before hand.
 
Anna
Anna (xDemolitionLoverx)
1 year ago
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Wow I never knew turtles could make people that sick...
 
JeriB
JeriB
1 year ago
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Very interesting - never knew turtles could be so dangerous.
 
Jane M.
Jane M. (darby8251)
1 year ago
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I'm old enough to remember when turtles were given out at carnivals for prizes - along with little chameleons attached to a chain with a pin through their bodies so you could wear them as an accessory. This practice was stopped not for humane reasons, but rather because of the threat of salmonella.
 
Amy K.
Amy K. (baatkmom4)
1 year ago
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I heard about turtles being unsafe pets for children.
 
Marsha B.
Marsha B. (brownmd)
1 year ago
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I was under the impression that the sale of these turtles was prohibited? How can they be selling turtles here? Can there be safe guards taken by sellers and buyers to prevent transmission of salmonella besides the hand washing routine?
 
kwebster
kwebster
1 year ago
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Turtles are very cute, but they can definately make you VERY sick! My neices daughters found that out the hard way! They got sick from handling a turtle.
 
Mandy
Mandy (Amandalovesdogs)
1 year ago
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oh great.
 
Brenda m.
Brenda m. (brknhrt)
1 year ago
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well at least it wont travel very far very fast either
 
Karen H.
Karen H. (Karen1957)
1 year ago
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turtles are cute
 
Emily
Emily (spotty)
1 year ago
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I have four turtles of my own and have had most of them for over ten years. They are cute and unique little animals. As long as you take good care of them and wash your hands when handling them there should be no reason they will cause you any harm.
 
fkmny345
fkmny345
1 year ago
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I hear that well-cared turtles live for a long time. I see people selling and buying small turtles casually, but they should really think and know that they are making a long-term commitment.
 
Erin S.
Erin S. (churchtroop08)
1 year ago
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I really want a pet turtle but my mom always tells me that they cause things like this and yea im not so sure i want one now that ive read this article..well i still want one lol i love animals too much
 
hnknm
hnknm
1 year ago
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Turtles are great little pets. Lots of fun. But any good pet store will make sure they explain to you the importance of washing your hands.
 
Chrystie C.
Chrystie C. (crawfie01)
1 year ago
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It has been common knowledge for many years reptiles carry salmonella. WASH YOUR HANDS!! WASH YOUR HANDS!! WASH YOUR HANDS!!!

Turtles make great pets!!! Don't freak out people. You should wash your hands after petting any animal, especially small animals and reptiles.
 
Chrystie C.
Chrystie C. (crawfie01)
1 year ago
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WASH YOUR HANDS PEOPLE!!!
 
slingle
slingle
1 year ago
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I had a small turle for years as a child. My mom warned me about salmonella, and I always washed my hands after playing with her. It's easy to avoid, and turtles make great pets! Much more personality than fish.
 
Laura
Laura (BunnyCrazy)
1 year ago
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Wow, who knew. I have never heard of this happening before and had no idea that turtles could carry this bacteria. Good to know.
 
jlahuis
jlahuis
1 year ago
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Turtles are not the plague carriers that this article supposes. This infection is simply prevented by just following good hygine, i.e. WASH YOUR HANDS!
 
cheryl p.
cheryl p. (cherylpatterson)
1 year ago
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No turtles for us hope they find out where the outbreak came from.
 
Maria F.
Maria F. (Momaria)
1 year ago
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There were several comments about teaching your kids to wash their hands after touching the turtles, but why would you risk your child's health? I would tell my child to pick another pet as this one runs a high risk of making you sick.
 
ejanay
ejanay
1 year ago
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Oh my goodness! I'm surprised there would be such an outbreak when these turtles were bought from pet stores! Too bad the stores didn't test them for these kinds of things!
 
Sarah
Sarah (steves78)
1 year ago
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Scary to think all the of turtles were purchased from stores. I wonder if there is some kind of test pet stores can do to make sure their turtles aren't infected.
 
ruthie
ruthie (ruthiegirl66)
1 year ago
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anytime anyone gets a new pet you should always try to research a little about the care and handling of the pet, cat, dog, turtle or any pet. Knowledge is the best defense against ignorance and what you don't know can hurt you.
 
George P.
George P. (gpeyton2001)
1 year ago
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Just leave the turtles in nature. That is where they belong.
 
Anonymous
Anonymous
1 year ago
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marlenegrove
marlenegrove
1 year ago
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how sad. turtles used to be such fun pets too. lottle care involved and they are so fun to watch.
 
sperkins91
sperkins91
1 year ago
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wow that's awful. esp that it happened to little kids. :(
 
J D.
J D. (Jenicca)
1 year ago
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scary stuff.
 
Audrey
Audrey (AudreyVeg85)
1 year ago
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Yikes. I hope they get this under control!
 
Cam J.
Cam J. (jocajo)
1 year ago
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This is interesting. Goes to show you can learn something new everyday. I didn't know that you could get salmonella poisoning by a turtle.
 
Sarah H.
Sarah H. (SarahVallo)
1 year ago
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This makes me kinda glad I didn't get a turtle in China Town when I went to NYC.
 
Vicky
Vicky (TheDoglover)
1 year ago
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poor turtles
 
Bethany H.
Bethany H. (itsmebee)
1 year ago
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If you want to let your child have a pet turtle, then you need to teach them the habit of washing their hands regularly after handling the animal.
 
susanp
susanp
1 year ago
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Good point - when I was a kid and had a turtle, my mother was obsessed with me washing my hands after I touched it (and I never got sick!)
 
Anonymous
Anonymous
1 year ago
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smlhelps
smlhelps
1 year ago
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CLEANLYNESS IS THE KEY.
 
Carol K.
Carol K. (Charm)
1 year ago
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Handwashing can avoid a lot of transmittal of these types of problems.
 
kiersten b.
kiersten b. (kierstb)
1 year ago
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hmm, now that's something to think about before getting timmy a turtle instead of a cat.
 
Renee
Renee (kingshounds)
1 year ago
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Any pet reptile can transmit salmonella.
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