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Salmonella Outbreak Culprits: Frogs

Salmonella Outbreak Culprits: FrogsIt seems that little frogs sold as pets are to blame for an outbreak of salmonella infection back in 2008-2011. Researchers are only starting to unravel the reason behind the outbreak which caused a major concern back then.

The outbreak caused almost 400 cases of sickness in over 40 states. The patients who were infected were mostly children. It was the first time that salmonella outbreak has been associated with frogs used as pets.

Here is a part of an article by Andrew M. Seaman that appeared on news.yahoo.com, “The majority of people didn’t realize there were any risks from these amphibians or reptiles, like turtles and snakes,” she added.

While most people hear about Salmonella-contaminated food, Mettee Zarecki said reptiles and amphibians also carry the bacteria. Humans can become infected after handling the animals, cleaning their containers or coming in contact with contaminated water.

People infected with Salmonella can have prolonged diarrhea, cramps, vomiting and a persistent fever. The infection can be deadly if it’s left untreated, and it’s most dangerous in the young, elderly and people with weak immune systems.

Previous research has found that reptiles and amphibians are responsible for about 74,000 Salmonella infections in the U.S. every year.

In the new report, Mettee Zarecki and her colleagues write that researchers from the CDC – along with state and local health departments – investigated an outbreak of Salmonella infections, mostly among children, in 2008.”

You can read the full piece here.

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