A few years ago I experienced the Exciting and Educational Adventure that is the Elmvale Jungle Zoo in Ontario. It was a blast. The zoo has any animal you can think of: lions, tigers and, not bears, but giraffes, monkeys, lemurs and more. My favourite part was the goat pen where visitors get a hands-on chance to pet and feed goats.

Soon after I started working with the barfblog crew, Ben, appalled that I loved petting zoos, explained to me the many opportunities for disease transmission in these zoos. Sadly, the goat pen was exactly that. When feeding the cute goats they tend to jump up, getting poop all over the place. My hoodie was covered.

The CDC has released recommendations for petting zoo operators to reduce the risk of infection, reports the United Press International.

[R]isks can be minimized by measures such as washing hands, providing adequate soap and paper towels and providing signs reminding visitors to wash their hands upon leaving the animal contact area and guiding them on proper hand washing techniques.

Since 1996, disease outbreaks [associated with animal settings] involving hundreds of people have been reported, including E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Cryptosporidium and Campylobacter.

I can’t recall if there were handwashing stations throughout the zoo, but I remember the friendly parrot that said goodbye when visitors left.

Amy, please take me to the zoo. I’ll wash my hands.