Is that 51 live turtles stuffed in your pants or you just happy to see me?

Posted on September 26, 2014 by Douglas Powell

A man has been charged with federal smuggling crimes after he was allegedly found trying to cross from Detroit into Canada with 51 live turtles in his pants, it was reported Thursday.

According to the Detroit Free Press, a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit said Kai Xu, a Canadian citizen, was trying to return to Windsor, Ontario, with the live reptiles tucked in baggies around his legs.

The newspaper reported that Gavin Shire of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service investigated the case against Xu and said there is a large demand for turtles in Asia — and not necessarily for pets.

There’s “a lot of both illegal and unregulated turtle consumption,” Shire told the paper.

Xu was stopped and arrested Aug. 5, but the criminal complaint was filed in court Tuesday.

391 now sick, mainly kids; 8 multistate outbreaks of human Salmonella infections linked to small turtles

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Douglas Powell

Four of eight multistate outbreaks of Salmonella linked to small turtles remain under active investigation, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control:

• a total of 391 persons infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella have been reported from 40 states and the District of Columbia;

• 29% of ill persons have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported;

• 71% of ill persons are children 10 years of age or younger, and 33% of ill persons are children 1 year of age or younger;

• 45% of ill persons are of Hispanic ethnicity. Information about the association between reptiles and Salmonella is available in Spanish;

• results of the epidemiologic and environmental investigations indicate exposure to turtles or their environments (e.g., water from a turtle habitat) is the cause of these outbreaks;

• 70% of ill persons reported exposure to turtles prior to their illness;

• 89% of ill persons with turtle exposure specifically reported exposure to small turtles (shell length less than 4 inches);

• 30% of ill persons with small turtles reported purchasing the turtles from street vendors; and,

• 13% reported purchasing small turtles from pet stores.

The Food and Drug Administration has banned the sale and distribution of turtles with a shell length of less than 4 inches in size as pets since 1975.

Full details are available at http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/small-turtles-03-12/index.html.

347 sick; 8 multistate outbreaks of human Salmonella infections linked to small turtles

Posted on February 16, 2013 by Douglas Powell

On March 30, 2012, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control announced an outbreak of Salmonella in small turtles that had sickened 66 people – mainly kids – across three states.

That initial outbreak has progressively grown to eight multistate outbreaks sickening at least 347 people with Salmonella Sandiego, Newport, Pomona, Poona, I 4,[5],12:i:-, and Typhimurium from 37 states and the District of Columbia in overlapping, multistate outbreaks linked to contact with small turtles and their habitats. Characteristics of the outbreaks are summarized below:

• 28% of ill persons have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported;

• 70% of ill persons are children 10 years of age or younger, and 33% of ill persons are children 1 year of age or younger;

• 44% of ill persons are of Hispanic ethnicity;

• 70% of ill persons reported exposure to turtles prior to their illness;

• 90% of ill persons with turtle exposure specifically reported exposure to small turtles (shell length less than 4 inches); and,

• 33% of ill persons with small turtles reported purchasing the turtles from street vendors, and 11% reported purchasing small turtles from pet stores.

Small turtles are a well-known source of human Salmonella infections, especially among young children. Because of this risk, the Food and Drug Administration has banned the sale and distribution of these turtles as pets since 1975. Turtles with a shell length of less than 4 inches in size should not be purchased as pets or given as gifts.

248 sick, mainly kids, from six multistate outbreaks of human Salmonella infections linked to small turtles

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Douglas Powell

A total of 248 persons infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Sandiego, Salmonella Pomona, and Salmonella Poona have been reported from 34 states, up from 219 in October.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports:

• 28% of ill persons have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported;

• 68% of ill persons are children 10 years of age or younger, and 33% of ill persons are children 1 year of age or younger;

• 49% of ill persons are of Hispanic ethnicity and information about the association between reptiles and Salmonella is now available in Spanish;

• results of the epidemiologic and environmental investigations indicate exposure to turtles or their environments (e.g., water from a turtle habitat) is the cause of these outbreaks;

72% of ill persons reported exposure to turtles prior to their illness;

89% of ill persons with turtle exposure specifically reported exposure to small turtles (shell length less than 4 inches); and,

• 34% of ill persons with small turtles reported purchasing the turtles from street vendors, and 17% reported purchasing small turtles from pet stores.

The full report is available at http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/small-turtles-03-12/index.html.

Petco offers turtle amnesty to curb salmonella risk

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Douglas Powell

JoNel Aleccia of NBC News writes that multiple outbreaks of salmonella infections tied to tiny pet turtles have drawn sharp warnings from government health officials and an unusual offer from a leading pet retailer: Return them here.

Petco, the pet products chain, has launched a “turtle relinquishment program” aimed at both curbing illness and giving the rejected reptiles new homes.

Dawn Burch, veterinary relations manager for Petco, said the firm started accepting wayward turtles in May, just about the time the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began warning about growing numbers of salmonella infections tied to the aquatic critters.

As of last week, 219 people in 34 states had been sickened in six overlapping outbreaks by salmonella found in small turtles sold in souvenir shops and at street fairs, CDC officials said. Infections have been caused by three rare strains of salmonella: Sandiego, Pomona and Poona.

“We saw this concern through the CDC and we thought, ‘How can we help in this situation?’” Burch said.

So far, 111 people in 10 states have taken Petco up on the offer and returned the turtles, typically red-eared sliders with shells that measure less than 4 inches across. People who want to participate can simply take the turtles to the nearest store. Though the CDC warning applies to the smallest turtles, Petco will accept turtles of any size, Burch said.

Petco has an agreement to send the turtles to Concordia Turtle Farm in Jonesville, La., which hatches, raises and sells turtles in the U.S. and abroad. Daisy DeWitt, a staffer at the farm, said the turtles are treated for any signs of salmonella and then placed in clean tanks where they thrive.

Some three million to four million red-eared sliders are exported from the U.S. every year, including many sent to foreign countries where they are regarded as pets — and sometimes as delicacies to eat, according to a turtle-protection group called the Tortoise Trust.

Getting the turtles out of the hands of young children — literally — is the main concern of the CDC, said Lola Russell, an agency spokeswoman. The salmonella infections were detected in six separate but overlapping outbreaks dating from June 2011 to late September. Thirty-six people were hospitalized; no deaths were reported.

Two-thirds of those sickened in the outbreak have been children younger than 10; 30 percent of those who became ill are babies younger than 1, according to the CDC report. Infection typically occurs when young children handle turtles or related objects and then put their hands in their mouths.

Half of those who got sick were Hispanic, said officials, who issued warnings in Spanish and English.

“Many people don’t know that turtles and other reptiles can carry germs that can make people very sick,” Casey Barton Behravesh, a veterinarian and deputy chief of the CDC’s outbreak response and prevention branch, said in a statement.

“For this reason, turtles and other reptiles might not be the best pets for your family, especially if there are children 5 years and younger or people with weakened immune systems living in your home.”

219 – mainly kids — sick in six Salmonella outbreaks linked to small turtles

Posted on October 20, 2012 by Douglas Powell

Turtles traumatized me as a child; now they frighten me for food-safety-related reasons: they make little kids sick.

In the current outbreaks, 30 per cent of the confirmed sick are children 1 year of age or younger; that’s at least 66 infants barfing because their parents wanted them to hang out with small turtles.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control is tracking six different outbreaks of human Salmonella infections linked to small turtles:

• a total of 219 persons infected with outbreak strains of Salmonella Sandiego, Salmonella Pomona, and Salmonella Poona have been reported from 34 states;

• 36 ill persons have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported;

• 66% of ill persons are children 10 years of age or younger, and 30% of ill persons are children 1 year of age or younger; and,

• 49% of ill persons are of Hispanic ethnicity.

Results of the epidemiologic and environmental investigations indicate exposure to turtles or their environments (e.g., water from a turtle habitat) is the cause of these outbreaks.

Small turtles are a well-known source of human Salmonella infections, especially among
young children. Because of this risk, the Food and Drug Administration has banned the sale and distribution of these turtles as pets since 1975.

Turtles with a shell length of less than 4 inches in size should not be purchased as pets or given as gifts.

196 sick with Salmonella; kids, step away from the turtle

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Douglas Powell

Kissing turtles remains a bad idea.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports 196 people are infected with outbreak strains of Salmonella Sandiego, Salmonella Pomona, and Salmonella Poona in 31 states.

• 36 ill persons have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported;

• 63% of ill persons are children 10 years of age or younger, and 29% of ill persons are children 1 year of age or younger; and,

55% of ill persons are of Hispanic ethnicity. Information about the association between reptiles and Salmonella is now available in Spanish.

Results of the epidemiologic and environmental investigations indicate exposure to turtles or their environments (e.g., water from a turtle habitat) is the cause of these outbreaks.

Rollerskating turtle tries to steal lettuce from grocery store

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Douglas Powell

I got a huge head of lettuce for $0.49 yesterday – it is spring here in Brisbane.

French prankster/humorist Remi Gaillard decided to enter a grocery store on rollerskates in a turtle costume, grab some lettuce and try to get away. Gaillard doesn’t make it out of the store with the lettuce though, thanks to a somewhat bewildered store employee that sort of stifles Gaillard’s attempt.

124 sick, up from 72; five multistate outbreaks of human Salmonella infections linked to small turtles

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Douglas Powell

Turtles in the 1960s and 1970s were inexpensive, popular, and low maintenance pets, with an array of groovy pre-molded plastic housing designs to choose from. Invariably they would escape, only to be found days later behind the couch along with the skeleton of the class bunny my younger sister brought home from kindergarten one weekend.

Maybe I got sick from my turtle.

Maybe I picked up my turtle, rolled around on the carpet with it, pet it a bit, and then stuck my finger in my mouth. Maybe in my emotionally vacant adolescence I kissed my turtle. Who can remember?

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports there are now 124 confirmed cases of people, primarily kids, infected with outbreak strains of five different Salmonella outbreak strains in 27 states.

There’s a country-wide love for turtles in 2012, even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned the sale and distribution of turtles less than 4 inches in size as pets since 1975.

Two new multistate outbreaks linked to small turtles have been identified since the prior update on April 5, 2012. Overall, 5 multistate outbreaks of human Salmonella infection are linked with exposure to small turtles. Results of the epidemiologic and environmental investigations indicate exposure to turtles or their environments (e.g., water from a turtle habitat) is the cause of these outbreaks.

• A total of 124 persons infected with outbreak strains of Salmonella Sandiego ( and B), Salmonella Pomona (A and B), and Salmonella Poona have been reported from 27 states.

• Small turtles (shell length less than 4 inches) were reported by 92% of cases.

• Forty-three percent of ill persons with small turtles reported purchasing the turtles from street vendors.

• 19 ill persons have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported.

• 67% of ill persons are children 10 years of age or younger.

• Small turtles (shell length less than 4 inches) were reported by 93% of cases with turtle exposure. Forty-three percent of ill persons with small turtles reported purchasing the turtles from street vendors.

The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Alaska (2), Alabama (1), Arizona (3), California (21), Colorado (5), Delaware (3), Georgia (3), Illinois (1), Indiana (1), Kentucky (1), Massachusetts (3), Maryland (6), Michigan (2), Minnesota (1), Nevada (4), New Jersey (7), New Mexico (3), New York (24), North Carolina (1), Ohio (2), Oregon (1), Pennsylvania (9), South Carolina (3), Texas (12), Virginia (3), Vermont (1), and West Virginia (1).

The complete update is available at http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/small-turtles-03-12/index.html.

Keeping count; raw food, animals can transmit disease

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Douglas Powell

Don’t touch that turtle! Don’t touch that one either! And stop touching yourself!

Second City TV: great or greatest show ever?

But good advice for those who want to hang around raw food and live animals of various kinds. Bacteria happen. Biology happens. “It’s not a deal, nor a test nor a love of something fated.”

I don’t like sushi; pet turtles traumatized me as a child.

Turtles were inexpensive, popular, and low maintenance, with an array of groovy pre-molded plastic housing designs to choose from. Invariably they would escape, only to be found days later behind the couch along with the skeleton of the class bunny my younger sister brought home from kindergarten one weekend. Maybe I got sick from my turtle.

Maybe I picked up my turtle, rolled around on the carpet with it, pet it a bit, and then stuck my finger in my mouth. Maybe in my emotionally vacant adolescence I kissed my turtle. Who can remember?

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports there are now 72 confirmed cases of people, primarily kids, infected with outbreak strains of Salmonella Sandiego, Salmonella Pomona, and Salmonella Poona in 17 states, up from 66.

Results of the epidemiologic and environmental investigations indicate exposure to turtles or their environments (e.g., water from a turtle habitat) is the cause of these outbreaks.

Small turtles (shell length less than 4 inches) were reported by 92% of cases.

Forty-three percent of ill persons with small turtles reported purchasing the turtles from street vendors.

Turtles with a shell length of less than 4 inches in size should not be purchased or given as gifts.

And in sushi land, there are now 100 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Bareilly from 19 states and the District of Columbia, up from 93.

The investigation has not conclusively identified a food source.

The investigation is ongoing into individual food items and their sources.

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