This week’s Eurosurveillance reports a study of 79 households in Germany with children suffering from gastroenteritis due to an exotic Salmonella serovar. Almost half (34/79) had at least one reptile pet in the home.
Nineteen households and 36 reptiles were further investigated. In 15 of 19 households, an identical serovar to the human case was confirmed in at least one reptile. The results demonstrate that reptiles, especially bearded dragons, shed various Salmonella serovars including those isolated from infected children in the respective households.
The report is available at: http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=20634
