It’s said
that cuddling with a beloved pet literally kills depression, relieves anxiety
and strengthens the immune system. With COVID-19 numbers hitting all time highs
in many countries and the impact on mental health from isolation, stress and anxiety
being able to snuggle with your best friend has never been needed more.
That is
unless your beloved pet is a bearded
dragon. According to
the CDC, at least 13 people across eight states (Idaho, Illinois,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington)
have been sickened by an outbreak of Salmonella muenster. At least seven people have been hospitalized,
and five of those infected are younger than 5 years old.
Salmonella is a bacterium
that we generally associated with foodborne illness after eating or drinking
contaminated water or food. However, reptiles like turtles
and bearded dragons can carry Salmonella in their poop regardless of how
clean and healthy they look. They can then easily spread the bacteria to their
bodies, habitats, and anything we place in their terrariums to make them feel
at home. If you’re not careful when cleaning their habitat or playing
with them, you can get sick from touching your mouth or face and ingesting the
bacteria.
While I have
never had a reptile as a pet, I have had fish, birds, rabbits, guinea pigs,
dogs, cats, cows,
pigs, and horses as pets. I generally go
for animals that are a bit softer or
fluffier to touch. The key
regardless of what pet you have is diligent hand hygiene after
petting, feeding or cleaning up after them.
If we have
learned one thing this year, we know how to clean our hands and clean and
disinfect our homes. While there are so many benefits to having pets and we
have seen the number of households with at least one pet rise to 67%, don’t drop
your guard when you or your family are cuddling Cujo.
Bugging Off!
Nicole
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