Don't touch that turtle! Don't touch that one either! And stop touching yourself!

Second City TV: great or greatest show ever?

But good advice for those who want to hang around raw food and live animals of various kinds. Bacteria happen. Biology happens. “It’s not a deal, nor a test nor a love of something fated.”

I don't like sushi; pet turtles traumatized me as a child.

Turtles were inexpensive, popular, and low maintenance, with an array of groovy pre-molded plastic housing designs to choose from. Invariably they would escape, only to be found days later behind the couch along with the skeleton of the class bunny my younger sister brought home from kindergarten one weekend. Maybe I got sick from my turtle.

Maybe I picked up my turtle, rolled around on the carpet with it, pet it a bit, and then stuck my finger in my mouth. Maybe in my emotionally vacant adolescence I kissed my turtle. Who can remember?

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports there are now 72 confirmed cases of people, primarily kids, infected with outbreak strains of Salmonella Sandiego, Salmonella Pomona, and Salmonella Poona in 17 states, up from 66.

Results of the epidemiologic and environmental investigations indicate exposure to turtles or their environments (e.g., water from a turtle habitat) is the cause of these outbreaks.

Small turtles (shell length less than 4 inches) were reported by 92% of cases.

Forty-three percent of ill persons with small turtles reported purchasing the turtles from street vendors.

Turtles with a shell length of less than 4 inches in size should not be purchased or given as gifts.

And in sushi land, there are now 100 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Bareilly from 19 states and the District of Columbia, up from 93.

The investigation has not conclusively identified a food source.

The investigation is ongoing into individual food items and their sources.

I still regret cuddling up to my pet turtle, but what did I know?

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control is collaborating with the Pennsylvania State Health Department in an ongoing investigation of an outbreak of human Salmonella enterica serotype Paratyphi B var. L (+) tartrate + infections associated with pet turtle exposures (MMWR, 61(04);79).

Turtles have long been recognized as sources of human Salmonella infections and are a particular risk to young children (1). Although the sale or distribution of small turtles (those with carapace lengths <4 inches [<10.2 cm]) has been prohibited in the United States since 1975 (with exceptions for scientific or educational purposes) (2), they are still available for illegal purchase through transient vendors on the street, at flea markets, and at fairs.

During August 5, 2010–September 26, 2011, a total of 132 cases of human Salmonella Paratyphi B var. L (+) tartrate + infection were reported in 18 states. The median age of patients was 6 years (range: <1–75 years), 66% were aged <10 years, and 63% were female. No deaths were reported. Of the 56 patients interviewed, 36 (64%) reported turtle exposure. For 15 patients who could recall the type of turtle contacted, 14 identified turtles too small to be legally traded. Five samples of turtle tank water from patient homes tested positive for the outbreak strain (four from Pennsylvania and one from South Carolina). Investigation to trace the source of these turtles is difficult because the vendors are transient. These cases illustrate that small turtles remain a source of human Salmonella infections, especially for young children.

Although many reptiles carry Salmonella, small turtles pose a greater risk to young children because they are perceived as safe pets, are small enough to be placed in the mouth, and can be handled as toys. Despite a 30-year ban on small turtles, this ongoing outbreak suggests that ban enforcement efforts, as well as public education efforts, have not been fully successful and should be examined.

In 2010, in response to a 2007 lawsuit filed by the Independent Turtle Farmers of Louisiana, Inc. seeking to overturn the ban, a federal district court upheld the Food and Drug Administration's authority to enforce the ban (3). Regulating the sale of small turtles likely remains the most effective public health action to prevent turtle-associated salmonellosis (4,5).

Reported by
Andre Weltman, MD, Aaron Smee, MPH, Maria Moll, MD, Marshall Deasy, Pennsylvania Dept of Public Health. Jeshua Pringle, MPH, Ian Williams, PhD, MS, Casey Barton Behravesh, DVM, DrPH, Jennifer Wright, DVM, Div of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; Janell Routh, MD, Allison Longenberger, PhD, EIS officers, CDC. Corresponding contributor: Janell Routh, jrouth@cdc.gov, 404-718-1153.

References
CDC. Multistate outbreak of human Salmonella Typhimurium infections associated with pet turtle exposure—United States, 2008. MMWR 2010;59:191–6.
Code of Federal Regulations. Turtles intrastate and interstate requirements, 21 C.F.R. Sect. 1240.62 (2011). Available athttp://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?fr=1240.62 . Accessed January 24, 2012.
Independent Turtle Farmers of Louisiana v. United States, 703 F. Supp. 2d 604 W.D. La (March 30, 2010). Available athttp://dockets.justia.com/docket/louisiana/lawdce/1:2007cv00856/103949 . Accessed January 24, 2012.
Harris J, Neil K, Barton Behravesh C, Sotir M, Angulo F. Recent multistate outbreaks of human Salmonella infections acquired from turtles: a continuing public health challenge. Clin Infect Dis 2010;50:554–9.
Cohen ML, Potter M, Pollard R, Feldman R. Turtle-associated salmonellosis in the United States. JAMA 1980;243:1247–9.

An infant in Ireland is recovering after a bout with botulism type E, most likely due to exposure to a pet turtle or turtle feed.

Dr Paul McKeown, a specialist in public health medicine at the national Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) warned that reptiles are not appropriate pets for children under the age of five.

Reptiles such as snakes, lizards, tortoises, turtles and terrapins have become extremely popular as pets, he said, but they require careful handling as they carry a range of germs that can lead to illness. Washing hands after touching them is very important.

“Given the risks, reptiles should not be kept as pets in a house where there are children under the age of five,” he added.

There are a number of different types of botulism toxin but the type which the baby picked up – type E – is so rare it was only the seventh case ever reported in an infant worldwide, the centre said.
 

kfoxtv.com reports that baby water turtles are sold on the side of the road all across the Borderland, but not everyone knows it's illegal to sell them.

Water turtles pose a health risk, according to officials. Even the sale of aquatic turtles at pet stores is a violation of city ordinance. Health officials say they can spread salmonella.

Martin Castellon from West El Paso said,

"When I saw the turtles, they looked pretty cute, and then I thought about my girl and I wonder if she might want a little pet or something like that.”

What Castellon saw was a car parked at the Burger King on North Mesa with a sign advertising water turtles. And he wasn't the only one who thought they were cute. This seller was open for business but illegally.

When a KFOX crew went up to the sellers they didn't want to be interviewed and started packing up to leave. We let Castellon know about the situation.

"I did not know that. I've just been caught in a crime? Am I being punked?" said Castellon.

For some awesome lip-synching and old-timey costumes, check out the CCR video for Down on the Corner. It’s not about turtles.