Salmonella comes out of its shell - response to a reader's question about contracting salmonella from turtles - Answering Machine

Vegetarian Times, March, 1996 by Lee Reilly

THE NOTION THAT PEOPLE can pick up salmonella from touching turtle shells is a myth that derives from a more complicated--and more dangerous--truth.

Salmonella is a genus of rod-shaped, oxygen-dependent bacteria that inhabits the intestinal tracts of as many as 90 percent of reptiles, including pet lizards, snakes, iguanas and turtles. Salmonella frequently causes infections (called salmonellosis) in humans and other animals, but salmonella carriers are often asymptomatic, according to Dr. Ann Manharth, D.V.M., associate veterinarian at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo. Infections caused by salmonella typically affect the gastrointestinal tract; humans usually experience it as food poisoning. In severe cases, it can cause death.

About 20 years ago, a rash of illnesses in children who had pet turtles caught the public's attention. The myth went out that children were contracting salmonellosis by touching the turtles' shells; in fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) came to believe that children were putting the baby turtles in their mouths. "That's why you can't sell turtles under a certain size anymore," says Manharth. In 1975, the FDA imposed the so-called "size rule"--dictating that it is illegal to sell turtles with shells under four inches in diameter, as well as fertile turtle eggs in the United States.

Unfortunately, the rule solves only part of the problem. Americans own some 7 million pet reptiles; the number of pet iguanas alone has increased 300 percent since 1986, and iguanas--not turtles--accounted for the majority of pet-related cases of salmonellosis reported to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control in 1994. Humans can contract salmonella from any reptile that has infested fecal matter on its shell or skin; infection occurs when you touch an infected animal with fecal matter on its skin and convey that bacteria to your food or mouth. The misconception that turtle shells alone are to blame for salmonellosis may foster a false sense of security and some unsafe practices.

Experts suggest a number of precautions. First, they recommend that people at increased risk for infection, including pregnant women, children under the age of 5 and those with compromised immune systems (due to other illness), avoid contact with reptiles altogether. In addition, they suggest keeping reptiles away from food-preparation areas; pet owners should not bathe their iguanas in the kitchen sink, and animal cages should be cleaned elsewhere. Finally, make sure to keep yourself and your kids clean. "Washing your hands after handling your reptile is a great idea," says Manharth.