
The CDC advises people who own poultry to wash their hands properly with water and soap after they have had contact with the animals.
CDC (the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) says that in order to prevent any salmonella outbreak people should stop cuddling or even kissing chickens. This warning comes after salmonella cases were reported in a large number in many states of the US in the first half of this year.
According to the latest report over 180 people were affected by salmonella outbreaks. Experts have been trying to discover what could be the cause of these recent outbreaks after they observed that people from 40 distinct US states were affected. In 33 of the cases the victims were hospitalized and no deaths have been reported.
The researchers interviewed 95 people who were infected with salmonella. According to the report issued by CDC 86 percent of the participants in the study had contact with their live poultry approximately a week before they discovered that they were infected. The people infected confessed that they had a close contact with the chickens such as kissing and cuddling.
As chickens and other poultry are becoming popular pets in the US CDC warns that the animals should be kept outside the house. Those who own or intend to buy poultry should have access to health-related information. Such information should draw the attention the health risks which the contact with live poultry has. This type of information should be provided by stores for agricultural feeds, mail-order hatcheries and those who display or sell chicks before people purchase any poultry.
The CDC advises people who own poultry to wash their hands properly with water and soap after they have had contact with the animals. Salmonella is generally caused when one eats infected meat. That is why the CDC recommends that people who eat poultry should clean the utensils used for preparing the meat and cook it very well. After cooking people should not only wash their hands but also the surfaces which came in contact with the raw meat.
The most common symptoms caused by the infection with salmonella are diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever. In most instances infected people can get better without special treatment, but in some cases salmonella infection can lead to other complications which can lead to hospitalization and even death.
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