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My son has contracted a rare bacteria called Edwardsiella Targa - probably from corn snakes we adopted in February. Beyond antibiotics, does anyone know anything about this? Can the snakes be tested/treated? Is it even a good idea to keep the snakes if they are the source? Good info on this bacteria is hard to come by.

Maybe it was just a typo in your post, in which case this won't really help, but if you spell it correctly ("Edwardsiella Tarda" with a "D", you get 36,500 hits on yahoo.

That' all I really have to offer.
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What goes up must come down...unless it exceeds escape velocity.

Edwardsiella Tarda

E. tarda can occur in the intestinal tract of snakes. It can easily survive in water (as in water bowls) and is passed via fecal to oral fashion. It occurs in fish and mammals too, so one cannot blame snakes completely. It can come from cats, dogs, horses, etc.

I'm sure the doctor told you this - always wash your hands after touching the snake or servicing the cage and water bowl.

You can call a vet and see if they will be able to look for that specific bacteria in a sample of the snake's feces.
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Mark

Thanks, I realized the type-o just after posting. I have sifted through a considerable amount of the Google hits, and am now considerably educated on the clinical stuff. Unfortunately, there isn't much about what to do as the pet owner. At this point we use the hand sanitizer after holding the snakes, then wash with soap & water. My boy was sick for a long time (3 months, 3 different antibiotics) before we figured out what it was and short of getting rid of the snakes, I'm not sure how to prevent this from happening again. Can a regular vet check for this bacteria, and if it is the snakes, can they be treated?

For sure, disinfect the snake cage(s) completely. You can use a mild bleach solution for now. LLL Reptile sells QuatPlus which kills bacteria (honestly, it smells alot like Windex, and I wouldn't be surprised..). Finally, the Bean Farm sells clorohexadine which I use for snake cages. You dilute it with water. It is safe and kills bacteria.

You would have to speak with your local vet to see what they can do for testing the snakes and then keeping the bacteria at bay. I imagine that a few doses of Flagyl (for the snakes)can take care of a bacteria overload, but the vet can hopefully offer better help than "I imagine." As stated, the source of this bacteria is likley the snakes but may not be.

With safe husbandry techniques, the chances of coming down with an infection from snakes is nil. However, young children are often far more susceptible than adults, in part because they do not wash their hands. The pediatrician recommended with my son waiting until he was 6 before he could handle a captive snake, just to be overly safe, because of the unknowns of captive snakes - i.e. where they were kept before you got them, what other animals were in the same room, were they exposed to non-native tropical snakes, etc.

You know, we put up with gangs and pit bulls sold to anyone and all of that stuff, but when snakes make the news linked with salmonella or something like that, people want all-out bans. That is why I think it is important that we are overprotective when it comes to kids and reptiles in our homes. Sounds like you are doing the right thing. You definitely want to have your child not come in contact with the snakes or cages until you can verify the status of the bacteria being present or not in the snakes.
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Mark

search Edwardsiella tarda (not targa). there is some info on the web about it.

Good news on the Edwardsiella Tarda - it did not come from the pet snakes. Did a fecal, and they are completely clean of everything. Bad news is we have no idea where it did come from and may never. At least I no longer have to treat the snakes as if they are toxic. Whew!