# Salmonella?



## GailC (Aug 20, 2011)

Has anyone heard of a nation wide salmonella outbreak linked to hedgehogs? There is a story in the local paper about a fatality, its kinda scary since the city the man lived in is the same city all out rescue hogs came from.
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/j ... -hedgehog/


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

Was another story like this a few months back, it was in the midwest if i'm remembering it correctly.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

I've been hearing about this all morning, somehow I knew it'd show up on here.

ALL animals carry salmonella, including dogs and cats, reptiles, hedgehogs, and all small mammals. Salmonella comes from ingesting fecal matter that is contaminated. So basically, not washing your hands after coming in contact with poop. It is not any more common from hedgehogs, and the number of reported cases for hedgehogs is very low compared to the total number of cases, cases from other animals, and so on. Media likes to find a "story" and blow things out of proportion. A breeder in my area got a call from the news today, they wanted an interview with a breeder about the "salmonella issue". An 80+ year old man died from salmonella linked to hedgehogs. Elderly and children are the ones most at risk because they have weaker immune systems, but it is very easy to avoid with good hand washing habits. The breeder I just mentioned has a daughter with virtually no immune system because of medication she takes for an ongoing disorder, and the daughter is in the hedgehog room every day. My mentor has had her grandchildren in the hedgehog room and handling hedgehogs as early as a year old, and she herself has immune deficiencies. It is REALLY just as simple as washing hands. Period. The news likes to pin the blame somewhere, without looking at the actual data and facts. They take things out of context. An article posted this morning said that salmonella cases from hedgehogs are the highest in Washington state, without giving any specific statistics in percentages compared to other states, other animals, etc. Hm, MAYBE it has to do with there being such a large hedgehog population in WA compared to other states? I wonder.

tl;dr: Wash your hands and you have nothing to worry about. The end.


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## GailC (Aug 20, 2011)

I thought it could be a case of the media being stupid but I thought I'd check. I hadn't heard of any nation outbreak so this just caught me off guard, I never really though about it being in mammals.
I've been involved with reptiles for many years so hearing about deaths from salmonella is nothing new to me. Really makes me wonder if they actually tested the hedgehogs or if they just "assumed" thats where it came from. Thats usually the case when people own a snake then a child gets sick. Blame the snake, have it killed but never take the time to actually test it.
Heck, I accidentally used the toothbrush I used for scrubbing my bearded dragon once. Was pretty dang gross but didn't make me sick. I'll try to wash up more often though, my hubby is kinda concerned.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

Tell him to do some research (NOT from media/news sites) before being "concerned". Otherwise he's falling into the panic/exaggeration that the media tries to create.

http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/typhimuri ... index.html

As of today's update: 20 cases and 1 death in the WHOLE COUNTRY from salmonella "associated" with hedgehogs. That doesn't necessarily mean the hedgehog in question was tested and found positive, it means that the person who got sick had some sort of hedgehog contact. Testing and "proof" of the source tends to be on a case by case basis. The average age is 13 years old, i.e. most of them are children (weaker immune systems).


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## momIImany (Oct 14, 2012)

That was gross GailC. I hope you now have the pet supplies in a separate container that's labeled!


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## nyaraa (Nov 28, 2012)

Ya I just saw that too, someone posted a link on my facebook. I was slightly alarmed and read the article, then googled animals that carry salmonella and found out that any animal that walks in, rolls in, or sleeps in poop can carry it. So if your dog likes to roll in poop, you can get salmonella from him. Its not really so much about the animal species, but about the poop! :lol: 
Anyone should wash their hands after handling a hedgehog, they are little poop machines


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## smhufflepuff (Aug 28, 2008)

I think the story is making headlines because hedgies are cheerleaders in this Sunday's puppybowl. And we can look on this as a blessing... Now when everyone sees the hedgies, it won't create as much of an instant (and not well thought out) demand for them as pets since everyone will be worried that hedgies are deadly.

The drawback to the article is people might start dumping their hedgies... we could see a spike in those needing rescue.

Figure it's simple enough: practice good hygiene. Wash up before handling hedgie to keep hedgie healthy; wash up after handling hedgie to keep yourself healthy. Change your shirt if it's not clean. Don't track outside dirt into your hedgie environment... nor hedgie messies into your living environment. 

And you... with the toothbrush... take a good hard look at how you're storing your supplies. We all do silly/dangerous things from time to time... no doubt. We can all use this outbreak of articles as a prompt to reevalute how we store our supplies, how we clean our hedgies' belongings, and otherwise protect ourselves and our hedgies from potential harm.


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## AngelaH (Jul 24, 2012)

I was just coming on to post about the same thing. My boyfriend works in local news, he said he did a double take because a story came across the wire from the Associated Press with the headline "Hedgehog Hazard". Since the AP released it today for whatever reason it's going to be picked up by news sources around the country. Here's the official release: http://m.usatoday.com/article/news/1880483


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## GailC (Aug 20, 2011)

The toothbrush thing won't happen again. The dragon brush was the same kind/color as mine and I had washed him in sink, left the brush sitting on the counter. I never wash animals or their stuff in the bathroom sink anymore, always in the tub.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

I think it's because the CDC just updated their status about the salmonella "outbreak" related to hedgehogs. I've been hearing about it all day, uhg. This is what I posted on our Facebook page to try to nip it in the bud: www.facebook.com/VolcanoViewHedgehogs/p ... 0559950263


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## RondackHiker (Jan 21, 2013)

Thanks for the headsup. My mom and DH's mom are both rather nervous. I hope they don't hear about it. We're preparing our defense. Is it true that all animals have salmonella?


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

All animals can have it naturally, yes. Doesn't mean they'll all test positive at a given time. It's a poop thing. Cats and dogs are just as likely to have it in their feces as hedgehogs. If you have good hand washing habits, there is no risk whatsoever.

Oh, and don't lick your hedgehog either. :roll:


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## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

Don't do this?


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## pickles17 (Feb 18, 2012)

LMFAO. Some seriously LOL-ing going on here.


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## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

I'm too lazy to resize this one, but I'm done bad jokes tonight.

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos- ... 7145_n.jpg


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## Avarris (Dec 3, 2012)

Okay, I already commented on Moxie's Facebook page but I will say this here too. I utterly refuse to listen to ANYTHING the media has to say. For years they have spewed forth such negative propaganda that makes me sick. While pregnant with my son, we had Columbine, a baby dumped in a port o potty, and another infant cooked in a microwave. I quit watching, too emotional in my pregnancy to deal with it. I turn on the news two years later and people are flying planes into buildings. I gave up the news forever since then. My great uncle was killed in a house fire and FOX NEWS arrived at the hospital and asked my cousin how he felt about his father's death. The kicker, he didn't even know yet! Fast forward to this past December, we have the Sandy Hook shootings, and the media starts ranting about Aspberger's Syndrome being a mental illness and the cause of the travesty. As a mother of a child with Aspberger's, I was beyond furious, the Autism community outraged at the irresponsible link of violence and autism. Autism is not even a mental illness. It's not like schizophrenia or depression or a hundred other mental health issues. As much as I despise the word it's a disability. The media was and in my opinion is uninformed and misguided. They fuel the nation's paranoia with misinformation, creating undo panic and despair in their wake. CNN later apologized for their misinformation, however, the seeds have been sown into the feeble minded, and now I have even more crazies to protect my son from thanks to the conglomerate media and their freaking experts. 

Research sources you trust, not some corporation and their agenda. Wash your hands, enjoy your hedgies and use your head, not the TV and radio 


Stepping off my soap box.


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

lol this reminds me of my teacher telling us about a friend of hers who has 2 kids, named Sam and Ella. :lol: Only problem is that Ella is the older one XD


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## alexvdl (Dec 19, 2012)

I keep trying to convince Maggie that Reginald is NOT adorable, but instead is quite the bada**, who fights bears and ninjas in his free time, but she's not buying it. Maybe I'll just tell her about his evil plan to unveil biological warfare against the elderly! *Muahahahahahahahaha*


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## jholstein11 (Dec 13, 2012)

to put in some sort of frame...

more people got salmonella from eggs than hedgehogs. more people get salmonella from pork than hedgehogs. you can get salmonella from virtually ANY food. the best way to prevent it- wash your hands.

If you take the population of the United States in July of 2012... and you take the 20 people who got sick... you only have a 0.00000637117091035495% chance of getting a salmonella related illness from a hedgehog. You have a higher percentage rate of being stuck by lightening. You are more likely to be injured by a toilet.

I think I'll take my chances.


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## Midevalmiss (Apr 6, 2011)

Avarris said:


> Okay, I already commented on Moxie's Facebook page but I will say this here too. I utterly refuse to listen to ANYTHING the media has to say. For years they have spewed forth such negative propaganda that makes me sick. While pregnant with my son, we had Columbine, a baby dumped in a port o potty, and another infant cooked in a microwave. I quit watching, too emotional in my pregnancy to deal with it. I turn on the news two years later and people are flying planes into buildings. I gave up the news forever since then. My great uncle was killed in a house fire and FOX NEWS arrived at the hospital and asked my cousin how he felt about his father's death. The kicker, he didn't even know yet! Fast forward to this past December, we have the Sandy Hook shootings, and the media starts ranting about Aspberger's Syndrome being a mental illness and the cause of the travesty. As a mother of a child with Aspberger's, I was beyond furious, the Autism community outraged at the irresponsible link of violence and autism. Autism is not even a mental illness. It's not like schizophrenia or depression or a hundred other mental health issues. As much as I despise the word it's a disability. The media was and in my opinion is uninformed and misguided. They fuel the nation's paranoia with misinformation, creating undo panic and despair in their wake. CNN later apologized for their misinformation, however, the seeds have been sown into the feeble minded, and now I have even more crazies to protect my son from thanks to the conglomerate media and their freaking experts.
> 
> Research sources you trust, not some corporation and their agenda. Wash your hands, enjoy your hedgies and use your head, not the TV and radio
> 
> Stepping off my soap box.


I am also a non news watcher, it is always so negative. This is just an other example that the news is being biased that having any kind of pet that is not "normal" is bad and will kill you. In CA our can't own a ferret because of ONE incident!!! Or you never hear about the Pit Bull that lost leg and suffered other injures polling her human off of a train track. (full story here http://lillytheheropitbull.com/ ) You only get to here about the poor dog that was torture for years and finally stud up for them selves and fought back and now they are deemed to dangers and must be put down. The news chooses what they will cover and they will ALWAYS choose the negative


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## jholstein11 (Dec 13, 2012)

Absolutely! We have two pit bulls and people are always asking "Ooooh, aren't you scared they'll attack you or the kids?"

My bullies are the sweetest dogs. My son uses them for pillows. They are the sweetest, gentlest dogs I've ever owned. If you are invited in my home, the only way you'd get bitten is if you were wearing ham pants. 



But... if you came in my home *uninvited*... they'd rip your f(*)&@$*(^@$ throat out. Because that's their job.


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## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

Also, check out this website for things dirtier than a hedgehog.
http://www.ranker.com/list/top-10-dirti ... day/joanne


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## jholstein11 (Dec 13, 2012)

11. My husband's ex-wife :lol:


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## Avarris (Dec 3, 2012)

jholstein11 said:


> 11. My husband's ex-wife :lol:


:lol: I can think of a few hundred other things to insert here, but this is a family friendly forum. 

The whole idea that hedgehogs cause it and not washing your hands is just bogus all the way around. I don't have to watch the news to hear all the rumors and crap going on around me. I just have to go to work every day. How sad is that?


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## jholstein11 (Dec 13, 2012)

Stupid people gonna be stupid. 

I still love my hedgie... germs and all!


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