By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
Some pet turtles contain the bacterium responsible for salmonella that causes diarrhea, fever and vomiting. According to the Korea Consumer Agency (KCA), salmonella has been found in 13 percent of pet turtles that have been sold at aquariums, retail outlets and Internet shopping malls.
Salmonella is an enterobacteria that can cause typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever, and food poisoning. In the worst case, salmonella could kill infants, the elderly, pregnant women or diabetics.
The germ comes from poultry and raw eggs or food that has been cooked or frozen and not eaten straight away. Salmonella can also be caught through handling reptiles such as iguanas.
Salmonella is present in turtles’ excrement and there are no identifying external features between those who carry and those who don’t carry the bacteria. Moreover, salmonella-carrying turtles don’t always excrete the bacterium, and so those that test negative on salmonella tests could be actual carriers.
Because of this, selling pet turtles with shells smaller than four inches has been banned in the United States since 1975. Violators of the regulation face up to a $1,000 fine or one-year in prison.
According to statistics from the Korea Customs Service (KCS), nearly 200,000 pet turtles were imported last year. However, there is no regulation on their sales. ``You should wash your hands after touching little turtles. Also you are vulnerable to infection through open wounds,’’ a KCS official said.