Read this!!! Press Release by HSUS!!!

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Posted by Nightflight99 on January 12, 2000 at 04:26:35:

The following has been subject of discussion in several other forums. It is a press release issued by the Humane Society of the United States:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December, 1999

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Karen Allanach: (301) 548-7778
Howard White: (301) 258-3072

HSUS ISSUES A PUBLIC ADVISORY ON PET REPTILES AND SALMONELLA INFECTION

Washington - Behind the glass terrarium, a pet iguana looks pretty harmless. The creature is watchful and quiet, but holds a deadly secret that will make you think twice about having reptiles as pets. Iguanas, snakes, lizards and all other reptiles produce Salmonella naturally and are transmitting critical infections to humans that in at least one case has been fatal.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the nation's largest animal protection organization, is issuing a consumer warning advising the public to not purchase reptiles as pets as they have been identified as a threat to human health, a charge supported by a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

On November 12, the CDC, a federal agency under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, released a report on reptile-associated Salmonella infection. The report states that reptile-associated Salmonella infections in humans have increased in recent years as the popularity of pet reptiles has risen. The report presents scientific evidence that "reptile-related salmonellosis continues to pose a substantial health threat to humans."

Each year, 93,000 people get Salmonella infections from pet reptiles. Thousands of people are hospitalized each year because of reptile-associated infection. Salmonella is a naturally occurring organism that lives in the gut of all reptiles. It is shed in the feces, contaminating the skin of a reptile as well as its enclosure and any other surface with which it comes in contact. It is not possible to stop reptiles from shedding Salmonella.

The CDC report states that Salmonella infection can result in serious illness including sepsis and meningitis and can particularly affect infants and elderly people.

In the report, many Salmonella cases are cited including that of the death of a five-month- old Wisconsin boy from salmonellosis who lived in a house with a pet iguana and a 10-week hospitalization of a three-week-old Arizona boy who was exposed to a relative's iguana.

The HSUS has long recommended against keeping reptiles as pets because of the inhumane treatments reptiles suffers and the conservation problems associated with removing them from the wild. Pet reptiles often do not survive long, with many dying within a year of purchase. Wild-caught reptiles are particularly prone to suffer and die due to mistreatment such as incorrect nutrition and poor housing.

Many wild populations of reptile species such as the American bog turtle have been detrimentally impacted by the pet trade, leading some species to become protected under the Endangered Species Act. The HSUS urges local governments to ban the giving away of reptiles as prizes at fairs and in other venues and to prohibit any event that brings the public into direct contact with reptiles.

The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization with more than seven million members and constituents.

Humane Society of the United States - Press Releases

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: The following has been subject of discussion in several other forums. It is a press release issued by the Humane Society of the United States: : : FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : December, 1999 : FOR MORE INFORMATION : Karen Allanach: (301) 548-7778 : Howard White: (301) 258-3072 : HSUS ISSUES A PUBLIC ADVISORY ON PET REPTILES AND SALMONELLA INFECTION : Washington - Behind the glass terrarium, a pet iguana looks pretty harmless. The creature is watchful and quiet, but holds a deadly secret that will make you think twice about having reptiles as pets. Iguanas, snakes, lizards and all other reptiles produce Salmonella naturally and are transmitting critical infections to humans that in at least one case has been fatal. : The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the nation's largest animal protection organization, is issuing a consumer warning advising the public to not purchase reptiles as pets as they have been identified as a threat to human health, a charge supported by a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). : On November 12, the CDC, a federal agency under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, released a report on reptile-associated Salmonella infection. The report states that reptile-associated Salmonella infections in humans have increased in recent years as the popularity of pet reptiles has risen. The report presents scientific evidence that "reptile-related salmonellosis continues to pose a substantial health threat to humans." : Each year, 93,000 people get Salmonella infections from pet reptiles. Thousands of people are hospitalized each year because of reptile-associated infection. Salmonella is a naturally occurring organism that lives in the gut of all reptiles. It is shed in the feces, contaminating the skin of a reptile as well as its enclosure and any other surface with which it comes in contact. It is not possible to stop reptiles from shedding Salmonella. : The CDC report states that Salmonella infection can result in serious illness including sepsis and meningitis and can particularly affect infants and elderly people. : In the report, many Salmonella cases are cited including that of the death of a five-month- old Wisconsin boy from salmonellosis who lived in a house with a pet iguana and a 10-week hospitalization of a three-week-old Arizona boy who was exposed to a relative's iguana. : The HSUS has long recommended against keeping reptiles as pets because of the inhumane treatments reptiles suffers and the conservation problems associated with removing them from the wild. Pet reptiles often do not survive long, with many dying within a year of purchase. Wild-caught reptiles are particularly prone to suffer and die due to mistreatment such as incorrect nutrition and poor housing. : Many wild populations of reptile species such as the American bog turtle have been detrimentally impacted by the pet trade, leading some species to become protected under the Endangered Species Act. The HSUS urges local governments to ban the giving away of reptiles as prizes at fairs and in other venues and to prohibit any event that brings the public into direct contact with reptiles. : The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization with more than seven million members and constituents.

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