The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in conjunction with public health officials in several states, have begun investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella infections linked to pet geckos. Geckos can carry Salmonella germs that can spread to humans and make them sick. A lower level of cases has also been reported in Canada.
Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards, known for their vocalisations and bright colours. Many gecko species have adhesive toe pads which allow them to adhere to most surfaces without the use of liquids or surface tension. In several countries, notably the U.S., geckos make for popular pets. There are over 18,000 species worldwide.
Geckos and other reptiles can carry Salmonella germs in their droppings. This risk exists even if the reptiles look healthy and clean. These bacteria can easily spread to their bodies and anything in the area where they live and roam.
A human can become ill from touching your gecko or anything in its environment and then touching your mouth or food and swallowing Salmonella germs.
Those infected with Salmonella typically experience diarrhoea, fever, and stomach cramps. These symptoms usually start 6 hours to 6 days after swallowing the bacteria and most people recover without treatment after 4 to 7 days. However, some people—especially children younger than 5, adults 65 and older, and people with weakened immune systems—may experience more severe illnesses that require medical treatment or hospitalization.
Salmonella species are intracellular pathogens, of which certain serotypes cause illnesses such as salmonellosis. Most infections are due to the ingestion of food contaminated by faeces. In the natural environment, around 30 percent of geckos carry Salmonella, with the bacterium being recovered from the reptile’s faeces.
Symptoms may include:
• fever
• chills
• nausea
• vomiting
• diarrhoea
• headache
• abdominal cramps
As to the reasons for the bacterium, climate change is impacting the spread of Salmonella, according to new research from the University of Surrey, UK. The research follows previous work, which found that weather change is leading to the spread of dangerous diarrheal illnesses.
Warmer temperatures (above 10 degrees Celsius), relative humidity, dewpoint temperature (between 7-10 degrees Celsius), and longer days (over 12-15 hours) were identified as key weather factors associated with an increase in Salmonella cases.
For those who handle geckos, it is important to always practice good hand hygiene and frequent handwashing after contact with geckos and their environments.
There is ‘no cure’ for geckos with Salmonella bacteria since the organisms cannot be eliminated from the intestinal tract of reptiles. Dosing reptiles with antibiotics to eliminate these bacteria has been unsuccessful and may result in Salmonella bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics that are then difficult to cure when infecting people.
