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Add rodents to the list of pets that can make people ill from the diarrhea-causing bacteria Salmonella.
Hamsters, rats and mice --- sometimes called "pocket pets" --- caused at least 15 human cases of a drug-resistant form of the illness last year in 10 states, including Georgia, federal health officials reported Thursday.
It's the first known outbreak of Salmonellosis from pet rodents. The disease --- chiefly transmitted by eating contaminated beef, poultry, eggs and other foods --- has been known to come from other pets: reptiles, kittens, chicks, ducks and hedgehogs.
"Parents need to be aware that there's no such thing as a perfectly safe pet," said Dr. Stephen Swanson, of the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who is based at the Minnesota Department of Health.
"Parents and children should wash their hands thoroughly after any contact with animals, animal products or animal environments," he said.
An investigation by health officials in Minnesota, where a 5-year-old boy contracted the disease from a mouse last August, discovered 15 cases of Salmonellosis traced to rodents from December 2003 to September 2004. Some cases involved rats or mice bought as food for pet snakes.
Swanson said it was likely many more cases go unrecognized. Guinea pigs, gerbils and other rodents also could potentially spread the disease, he said.
"There's still probably ongoing exposure," he said.
Salmonellosis --- which sickens 1.4 million Americans a year, causing 14,800 hospitalizations and 415 deaths, according to the CDC --- is transmitted by infected feces. With pets, it usually comes from kissing them or petting them before people put their fingers in their mouth, nose or eyes.
Susie Mock, manager of About Pets in Conyers, said workers separate any rodents that develop diarrhea and treat them with antibacterial sulfa drugs.77 But she said people should regard any pet as potentially infected and wash their hands after contact.
"They could be carrying it but not be sick," she said.
Three distributors --- in Georgia, Arkansas and Iowa --- were found to have sold the rodents to pet stores in several states, Swanson said. Two pet stores in Georgia were involved. Neither Swanson nor the Georgia Division of Public Health would identify the distributors, the stores, or their locations.
Investigators were not able to pinpoint the initial source of the problem, but unsanitary cages used by some distributors and stores contributed to it, Swanson said. Pet industry practices appeared to cause another finding: the strain of Salmonella found is resistant to many drugs, probably because of antimicrobial agents put in the water and food given to rodents, he said.
Seven of the 15 cases were in children younger than 8, including an 11-month-old girl from Georgia who was hospitalized but recovered, Swanson said.
Animal-borne diseases --- long a problem from wild creatures --- are increasingly being discovered from rodents and other domesticated pets.
The CDC in January reported the first known case, from a pet hamster bite, of tularemia (also called rabbit fever), another bacterial disease that can cause diarrhea and severe illness. It occurred last year in a Colorado boy.
The first U.S. outbreak of monkeypox, a viral illness related to smallpox, was reported in 2003; it arose from contact with pet prairie dogs.
This February and March, at least 30 people were infected with a virulent strain of the bacteria E. coli after visiting petting zoos in Florida, where sheep, goats and cows later tested positive.
Copyright 2005 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
