Three Salmonella outbreaks from animal contact in 2013

Three multi-state Salmonella outbreaks were linked to contact with live animals in 2013, two from live chicks and one from illegal pet turtles. A total of 987 people were sickened in these three outbreaks, most of them were children. The outbreak associated with pet turtles sickened 473 people in 41 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) described the outbreak as a series of overlapping outbreaks that began in May 2011 and ended October 2013. Seventy percent of those sickened were 10 years old or younger, 31 percent were 1 year old or younger. Forty four percent of the case patients were of Hispanic ethnicity. About 29 percent were of those sickened required hospitalization, no deaths were reported.  Read More