TomKat buys fish tank for Jlo’s twins: can you say Salmonella?

EntertainmentWise is reporting that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes wanted to create a splash for Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony’s new twins so they bought a fish tank.

A source tells the Daily Star,

“Tom and Katie wanted to get them something different and special so they thought a giant fish tank would be great.”

Australian researchers reported in the March 2006 issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases that a multidrug-resistant strain of Salmonella paratyphi B sent some children to the hospital with high fever and bloody diarrhea. Investigators used DNA fingerprinting to trace the source to fish tanks in the patients’ homes.

The N.Y. Times quoted the researchers as saying, 

"The fact that 12 to 14 percent of Australian households have ornamental fish and as many as 12 million American and 1 million Canadian families own domestic aquariums, together with the young age of most affected patients," make the risk of contamination from the tanks a matter of public health.

Dr. Diane Lightfoot, a microbiologist and salmonella specialist at the University of Melbourne, who contributed to the Australian study, said,

“The world would be a terrible place without fish tanks. We’re just calling on people to use common sense. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water. And when Mum’s cleaning the tank, a child shouldn’t play with the pebbles or sticks or splash in the water. It’s easy to get infected."


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About Douglas Powell

A former professor of food safety and the publisher of barfblog.com, Powell is passionate about food, has five daughters, and is an OK goaltender in pickup hockey. Download Doug’s CV here. Dr. Douglas Powell editor, barfblog.com retired professor, food safety 3/289 Annerley Rd Annerley, Queensland 4103 dpowell29@gmail.com 61478222221 I am based in Brisbane, Australia, 15 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time