Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Fido's Food Could Be Making Kids Sick, Report Says

79 kids got sick from 2006-2008, attributed to salmonella in dog food. How many kids got sick from contact with reptiles during that same time period?
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Chris McMartin
www.mcmartinville.com
I'm Not a Herpetologist, but I Play One on the Internet

Dog food, reptiles, and pets in general don't cause Salmonellosis in humans...poor hygiene, poor parenting, and other manifestations of ignorance do.
Lets couch the argument properly. I'm sick and tired of the false pretext. Stop letting others call the tune.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

...well said Mr.Crickmer well said indeed.
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1.0 c.b.02' 7' Pastel Colombian Boa(thanks Bill!)"Maverick"
0.1 c.b.06' 6' Firebelly x Pastel boa "Betty Boa"
0.1 c.b. 07 5' Amazon Basin Redtail Boa"Lola Boa"1.0 c.b. 05 6' Blonde Bullsnake "Boo"
1.0 c.b. 05'2' Snow Corn "Zero"
1.0 wc 4' Fl.Cornsnake "Iggy"
0.1 cb 18"Okeetee Cornsnake "Bella"
1.0 wc 3'everglades x yellow ratsnake "Achmed"
1.1 wc LTC Southern WhiteLip PYthons "Thorne and Ariel"

Dog food, reptiles, and pets in general don't cause Salmonellosis in humans...poor hygiene, poor parenting, and other manifestations of ignorance do.

Lets couch the argument properly. I'm sick and tired of the false pretext. Stop letting others call the tune.

You are correct, but how do we do that (control the message)? Letter-writing campaign to the CDC?

I put on a reptile display at a local community event this weekend, and of course salmonella came up from a concerned parent. My standard line is to ask them if they let their children handle raw chicken. Nothing's wrong with raw chicken, just wash your hands afterwards. Same thing with herps, dog food, etc.
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Chris McMartin
www.mcmartinville.com
I'm Not a Herpetologist, but I Play One on the Internet

In 2003, the CDC reported that there were approximately 74,000 cases of herp related salmonella in the USA. See this article and associated references http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/reptiles/a/reptsalmonella.htm

As noted in the article, people can get salmonella from herps but it is usually due to poor hygiene with respect to the herp.. (with the exception of the large outbreak referenced at the bottom which was due to exposure to a Komodo pen at a Zoo..

Ed

Bottom line, as I previously stated is hygiene. Vectors and sources are everywhere in our environment.
As far as Salmonella jumping species, it happens, but by no means a given, considering it would be the case of transmission from an ectotherm host to an endotherm host.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer