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SUN CHRONICLE (Attleboro, Massachusetts) 21 April 05 Pet lizard likely salmonella source
Plainville: Jennifer Shotwell said she had handled her boyfriend's bearded dragon lizard only a couple of times, and had no idea she could be passing along salmonella to her infant daughter, Alana.
But the Plainville mother said that was what doctors at Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence speculate happened after treating Alana for severe diarrhea, a high fever and stomach pain in March.
Shotwell says they continue to take cultures from her now 4-month-old child to test for salmonella.
Shotwell said she wanted to warn others of the potential health problems from salmonella and that it can be transmitted from seemingly unlikely sources.
`` I'd hate for any other babies to go through what she's been through,'' Shotwell said.
Pet lizard likely salmonella source

It is highly unlikely she got salmonella from the lizard....there has been no documented case in the US from bearded dragons....she more likely got it from handling raw meat like chicken while cooking and not washing her hands thoroughly before handling her daughter and even more likely her daughters bottle....

These kind of articles are written all the time with no proof to back up what they say.....and it causes unnecessary alarm in those who don't know the likely hood of it happening....I've been keeping reptiles since before my kids were born, they've all grown up with them and as a parent I know they didn't always wash their hands kids never do and you can't be there every minute....none of mine have ever had salmonella and I have many, many reptiles so the likelyhood of my kids getting it is greater than the normal person who has one or two reptiles.....
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Tracey
Tracey's Beardies
www.beardiecrazy.com
"Whining is not only graceless, but can be dangerous.
It can alert a brute that a victim is in the neighborhood" ~Maya Angelou

The moral of the story is, "Never lick your boyfriends lizard." Alright, alright, but don't people wash their hands after handling pets? Especially if your going to handle a child next?

It never fails.

Oh please that article is a bunch of crap. As kids most of us ate raw cookie dough and cake batter which they now say can make you sick but then again breathing the air can make you sick. Why don't we all just go live in big bubbles because the whole freaking world can make us sick. I've been in the medical field for almost ten years now and I still keep up with everything new thats going on but if you really look at all the studies out there now just about everything you do or eat can make you sick. Some people really need to look at things more closely before they go off and accuse animals of making them sick because it was more than likely something that they did and not the animal. Most animals are cleaner than humans and thats even the ones kept in captivity. This woman just wanted a scape goat and the poor beardie was the best she could come up with because it can't defend itself.

What I normally tell people is that according to the CDC (Center for Disease Control) only 6% of all salmonella cases are reptile related. You just need to practice proper hygene when handling any animal, reptile or mammal.

While this article does highlight the serious danger that salmonella poses to infants and the elderly, there is only a supposition of where the contamination came from. It doesn't sound like the reptile was tested and it is doubtful the physician in question really knows anything about reptiles.

All in all, a perfect example of 1/2 way journalism.

Wendy
Scales