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Lynh Bui
A journalist specializing in public security and criminal justice
Each hedgehog has its spine.
Two months after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised people to "kiss or huddle against hedgehogs" due to a salmonella outbreak, the federal health agency announced that six other people in three other states, including Virginia, became ill after being touched with pungent pets.
On Friday, 17 people in the country were infected with a strain of virus. Salmonella typhimurium that the CDC warned for the first time in January could be linked to pet hedgehogs.
Nobody died, but two people were hospitalized.
"Epidemiological and laboratory evidence indicates that contact with pet hedgehogs is the likely source of this outbreak," the CDC said in an investigation notice.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors legalized domestic hedgehogs in January – just days before the CDC issued the first notice informing it that it was investigating the outbreak of salmonella-related to creatures. A separate effort to do the same thing in the district failed in December.
Yekaterina Gilchyonok is holding a hedgehog at the Veles Center, a Wildlife Rehabilitation Shelter near St. Petersburg. (Dmitri Lovetsky / AP)
It does not appear that the recent legalization of pet hedgehogs in Fairfax County is related to the two cases reported in the state, according to information provided by the Virginia Department of Health.
The two people with the disease lived in the southwestern region of Virginia and "one of them was definitely exposed to the hedgehog," said Maribeth Brewster, a spokeswoman for the department.
"Washing your hands after handling and cleaning these animals and all these animals can reduce the risk of transmission of the disease," she added.
Other states where the strain of salmonella has become ill include Colorado, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Texas, Washington state and Wyoming.
The largest number of cases is from Minnesota and Missouri, with three each.
Elaine Becker, who has cared for more than 100 hedgehogs over the years through her work during animal rescue in Roanoke, said having pet hedgehogs had become a recent fashion. People have fallen in love with these cute creatures but do not know how to take care of them. Domestic hedgehogs are usually in cages and run on wheels, where shit can stick to their feet, she said. Pet owners should clean the hedgehog cages every week and pick up their feces every day – preferably with gloves to avoid getting sick.
"After touching an animal or raw food, wash your hands," said Becker, also a member of the Hedgehog Welfare Society and the International Hedgehog Association. "You would not let your child play with raw chicken before letting them put their hands in their mouths."
Hedgehogs have become so popular that many have their own social media accounts. Rising demand for hedgehogs has also led some jurisdictions to recently lift the ban on having them as pets.
[Welcome, hedgehogs. The increasingly popular pet is now legal in Fairfax County homes.]
Officials identified the strain of salmonella in the recent outbreak after studying samples from eight Minnesota hedgehogs, including three from two sick people. Most of those who became ill appear to be young children, according to the CDC.
Of those surveyed, 13 out of 15 reported having had contact with a hedgehog before falling ill, but the CDC said it did not identify a common provider likely to be at the origin of the disease. ;epidemic.
"Hedgehogs can carry Salmonella sprouts in their droppings while appearing healthy and clean," warned the CDC.
But some long-time lovers of ingrown brushes say the recent warning about CDC hedgehogs is bullshit.
Zug Standing Bear, who has treated more than 500 hedgehogs in 20 years thanks to his Colorado-based rescue, said the recent CDC alert echoed the alert sent by the agency in 2012. This That year, the CDC reported 20 cases of salmonella – including one death – in eight states where a hedgehog was in the home of a sick person.
Standing Bear stated that the hedgehog-related disease could be statistically random and that it should not deter people from responsibly owning a pet.
Becker said the recent alert from the CDC unjustly distinguishes hedgehogs. Many domestic animals, such as turtles and birds, can carry salmonella, Becker said. Compliance with common sense hygiene rules and research before buying a hedgehog – or any other pet – can prevent problems.
"They can make wonderful animals, but they are not for everyone," said Becker. "If you can not handle shit and feed them mealworms, get a stuffed animal."
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