US salmonella cases linked to rats, hamsters - CDC
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U.S. health officials warned the public on Thursday to be careful when handling mice, rats and hamsters after an investigation into the first documented human cases of salmonella linked to pet rodents.
Although salmonella poisoning typically occurs as a result of eating contaminated food, such as eggs or meat, a number of cases were reported in people infected through contact with animals, usually snakes or turtles.
Pet chicks, ducklings, kittens and hedgehogs also have been linked to human outbreaks.
Rodents have now joined the list, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Atlanta-based federal agency said on Thursday that 15 people in 10 states had contracted Salmonella Typhimurium in 2003 and 2004 after direct exposure to various types of rodents purchased from pet stores.
A strain of the bacteria that is resistant to some antibiotics, Salmonella Typhimurium typically causes abdominal cramping, diarrhea and high fever. About half of those recently infected by the pet rodents were hospitalized.
The CDC, however, did not recommend that people avoid keeping what it described as “pocket pets,” urging them instead to wash their hands after handling these animals or their cages and holding containers.
Dr. Stephen Swanson, a CDC epidemiologist who helped investigate the outbreaks, said it was especially important that parents monitor their children’s exposure to rodents and other such pets and ensure they wash their hands after contact.
Eight of the 15 cases in its report were in children 16 or younger, according to the CDC. One patient, a 5-year-old boy from Minnesota, was found to have frequently handled and kissed a pet mouse that was visibly ill.
Like reptiles and other species, rats, mice and hamsters can carry salmonella in their intestinal tracts and shed the bacteria in their feces. They may not have diarrhea or other signs of the infection to pose a threat to humans.
“It’s quite possible that some of these animals can shed the bacteria while still appearing well,” Swanson said.
The CDC report came amid heightened concerns about diseases spread by exotic and wild animals as well as livestock. In 2003, the United States reported the first outbreak of human monkeypox infection in the Western hemisphere.
Close contact with infected prairie dogs was found to be the cause of most of the infections. Last year, a 3-year-old Colorado boy contracted tularemia, a potentially fatal infection, after being bitten by a pet hamster.
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