The FDA has sent out brochures by mail and online to consumers advising them to remove pet turtles from their homes if they are expecting young children and cautioning them against buying turtles as gifts, citing Salmonella risk.

Dr. Joseph C. Paige, a consumer safety officer with the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, states that reptiles and amphibians commonly carry Salmonella, but turtles are the most likely of those to come in contact with small children. Children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems are at increased risk from the bacteria.

For a free brochure about Salmonella and turtles, you can visit a page the FDA has set up: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine: What You Should Know About Small Pet Turtles.

Source: JAVMA News: FDA brochure warns of Salmonella.

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