Stop Kissing and Snuggling Turtles, CDC Warns Amid Salmonella Outbreak

It’s a seemingly harmless act: smooching a tiny turtle as it sits in the palm of your hand. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning animal lovers not to do it.

At least 26 people across 11 states have recently been infected in a salmonella outbreak linked to small turtles, the CDC said in a recent investigation notice. At least nine have been hospitalized.

“Don’t kiss or snuggle your turtle, and don’t eat or drink around it. This can spread Salmonella germs to your mouth and make you sick,” the CDC warned, adding that turtles with shells less than four inches long are “a known source of illness.”

Salmonella is a potentially deadly bacteria that causes some 26,500 hospitalizations in the United States each year. It can be contracted through a variety of foods such as raw cookie dough, flour and meat, as well as animals and people-to-people contact. Symptoms include diarrhea, fever, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting and headaches, and they usually persist for about four to seven days.

In 1975, the Food and Drug Administration banned the sale of pet turtles with shells under four inches, citing thousands of cases of severe illness, but stores and online retailers have been known to sell them anyway. Those who have a turtle they no longer want to keep are warned against releasing it into the wild. They should instead contact a local rescue center, the CDC said.

“Pet turtles are not recommended for children younger than 5, adults aged 65 and older, or people with weakened immune systems,” the CDC added. “These people are more likely to get a serious illness from germs that turtles can carry.”

Turtles can shed salmonella in their droppings, with the bacteria later ending up on their shells or skin. But they’re not the only animal from which a smooch can lead to sickness: The CDC has also warned against kissing cats, dogs, lizards and other creatures, even if they’re household pets. Chickens, ducks, turtles and frogs are particularly “high-risk,” it said, and a salmonella outbreak was linked to pet hedgehogs in 2019.

To prevent salmonella infections, the CDC advises people to routinely wash their hands, keep perishable foods refrigerated and avoid using kitchen sinks to wash pet bedding or cages.

Last year, at least 28 such infections across 16 states were linked to turtles, leading to 10 hospitalizations. In July, the CDC also announced an investigation into hundreds of infections linked to backyard poultry, which led to at least 141 hospitalizations.

(c) 2023, The Washington Post · Kelly Kasulis Cho