Salmonella
The bacteria frequently discussed as Salmonella, the cause of salmonellosis, includes a few species, several subspecies, and more than 2,500 serotypes within the same bacterial genus. Salmonella bacteria are enteric, living in the intestinal tracts of most vertebrate animals, including not just amphibians and reptiles but also fish, birds, and mammals (this means humans, too). Outside of a vertebrate host, Salmonella bacteria can survive in soil for over a year under supportive conditions and can be present on crop plants and vegetable produce. In the most general terms, fecal contamination is the primary means of disease being caused and spread by enteric bacteria such as Salmonella.
Salmonellosis is the name used for symptomatic infection caused by Salmonella-type bacteria. The most well-known cause of salmonellosis is “food poisoning,” where consumption of contaminated food causes exposure and illness. The most common symptoms associated with salmonellosis are diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps, and vomiting, with the onset of symptoms occurring anywhere between a few hours to three days after exposure. Symptoms frequently last between about two to seven days. Severe disease is more likely to develop in the very old, very young, or in individuals with otherwise compromised immune function.
Laboratories can test to identify the strain of a causative bacteria. While decades of discussion around pet reptiles and Salmonella are likely to predispose many people to assigning cause and blame on reptile keeping as a forgone conclusion when a case of salmonellosis is found, a reptile source is not necessarily the cause. Appropriate tests should be conducted to correctly identify an infection’s source.
It is of the utmost importance that all reptile and amphibian keepers and caregivers take regular, systematic precautions to prevent any fecal contamination from their animals from reaching any surface (or tools or containers) involved in the preparation or storage of foods or fluids that are meant to be consumed. While feces is visible, fecal contamination of surfaces is often invisible. This is why careful preventive measures must be embraced.
Prevention of Salmonellosis
- Habitual hand washing. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water immediately after touching or completing any task that involves touching an amphibian or reptile or any of their caging, food, water, bedding, husbandry equipment, handling tools, or any objects in an area where they live or have contacted.
- If hand washing is not practical, use hand sanitizer until you are able to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.
- Adults should supervise hand washing for young children.
- Adults must wash hands and change clothes and/or fully bathe if they have previously cleaned cages or handled reptiles or amphibians excessively before preparing meals, playing with children, or doing anything that could transmit Salmonella from themselves to others.
- It is important that food bowls, cages, and other equipment for your animals NOT be washed in areas where human food is prepared, served, or stored.
- Severe disease is more likely to develop in the very old, very young, or in individuals with otherwise compromised immune function.
- All pets should always be kept away from any areas where food for people is prepared and eaten.
- Be aware that Salmonella may be present on your reptile or amphibian pet, as well as any substrate, bowls, caging accessories, or handling tools.
- Wash any clothing the reptile or amphibian pet might have touched.
- If animals must be bathed or their habitat, cage equipment, or tools cleaned in bathtubs or sinks that are also used for people, these surfaces must be thoroughly disinfected afterward.
- Disinfect any surfaces that have been in contact with pets. This includes surfaces in your home, in and around your pet’s cage or vivarium, and any tools or equipment used to maintain and care for your pet.
- Salmonella transmission from pets is preventable through proper hygiene habits and child supervision.
