Wash away salmonella risk of duckling cuddles
7 July 2003
Cuddly chicks and adorable ducklings are very appealing to young children, but with the delight comes a serious risk of Salmonella infection, according to a letter in the current issue of the Medical Journal of Australia.
Medical epidemiologist, Dr Tony Merritt, said transmission of Salmonella infection to children from ducklings and chickens is well documented in the United States and United Kingdom, but not in Australia.
Salmonella is a bacterial infection that causes a range of symptoms in people, in particular gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhoea and vomiting.
Dr Merritt investigated a cluster of Salmonella agona cases in NSW among children from childcare centres who had been visited by animals from a single local hatchery.
At each show, the children saw an egg hatching, watched day-old ducklings swim and had the opportunity to hold a day-old chick or duckling, and to touch an adult chicken.
Details of gastrointestinal illness were sought from childcare centres that had hosted visits from the hatchery.
‘This identified 7 laboratory-confirmed cases [of Salmonella] in 6 children and one staff member, with onsets within 2 to 12 days after a visit from the hatchery animals to the childcare centres,’ Dr Merritt said.
As a result of the investigations, a number of new procedures, based on guidelines from South Australia, helped prevent further Salmonella infection in students and staff.
The procedures included:
- supervised hand washing after handling the animals;
- avoiding carpeted areas for the show;
- adequate cleaning of obvious faecal contamination; and
- disposal of the water used by swimming ducklings into the sewerage system.
Dr Merritt explained, ‘Young poultry are particularly vulnerable to Salmonella infection and ... young children are similarly vulnerable.
‘As animal visits to childcare centres are highly valued by children and carers, appropriate guidelines should be widely promoted to the childcare sector and the petting zoo industry to reduce the risks these visits pose.
‘The petting zoo guidelines developed in South Australia are an excellent resource and NSW Health is currently developing a fact sheet on the topic,’ he said.
Last Reviewed: 07 July 2003
