Disease Control and Prevention Centers (CDCs) are telling owners to avoid kissing and throwing away popular pets at home – no matter how cute – after 32 cases of salmonella have been linked to hedgehogs.
Thirty-two people in 17 states were infected with Salmonella typhimurium in five hospitals by the end of September. Of the 23 patients interviewed by the CDC, 16 have been exposed to small, spiky houseplants.
The agency said the sick New Yorker had a strain of salmonella in a discharge condition from a hedgehog home that was found in 32 patients.
The CDC said the strain is similar to the one that caused the Salmonella outbreak in 2012 and 2019.
While hedgehogs can spray themselves and look healthy, according to the CDC, their drops may contain strains of Salmonella, which later spread easily to their habitats, toys, and surfaces as they move.
The first recorded example of this strain of Salmonella was found on April 12. The infected people range in age from 1 to 61 years.
Hedgehog owners are advised by the agency to wash their hands after handling their pets, to walk around where they prepare food, and to avoid sniffing and kissing them.
The agency also suggests that owners not clean their pet dwellings and toys outside the home, if possible, and especially in the kitchen.
Most Salmonella patients experience diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps for hours to hours after exposure to the bacteria and remain ill for four to seven days. Some patients can weather the disease at home, while others are treated in the hospital if the bacteria spreads in the bloodstream.
For a map showing states with confirmed cases associated with pet hedgehogs, click here.
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