Hundreds of millions of legally and illegally imported exotic pets are flooding into the USA and Europe every year. One day an unsuspecting animal could be contentedly hopping around in Asia, Africa or South America and suddenly find itself transferred half way across the world and in some child’s bedroom inside a week. The main problem is that many of these animals are not subject to any form of quarantine or only minimal health screening before they are allowed into the country and then into our homes. Many owners are unaware that their exotic pet may be hazardous for the healt of their families.
Zoonotic Diseases
Zoonotic diseases are those that can jump from animals to humans. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the USA says that zoonotic diseases account for around three-quarters of all emerging infectious diseases today.
Let’s look at just some of the disease your hedgehog could give you.
A CDC study from 2005 lists an alarming number of confirmed and potential zoonotic diseases that pet and wild hedgehogs can carry. The confirmed diseases include Salmonella, Yersina, pseudotubercolosis, Mycobacterium marinum, Herpesvirus including human herpes simplex and Rabies. The potential diseases they can carry include Yersina pestis (also responsible for Bubonic plague) and hemorrhagic fever.
Salmonella
Salmonella is normally contracted from contaminated food. However the CDC estimates that something like 5% of all infections are the result of contact with exotic pets. For example they estimate that nearly eighty thousand Americans contract Salmonella from their pet reptiles every year.
In 1994 African Pygmy Hedgehogs were responsible for passing on a rare form of Salmonella (S. tilene), to a 10 month old girl who became the first ever confirmed case of this serotype in a human in the USA. The girl’s family were hedgehog breeders who kept a herd of about 80 hedgehogs. Significantly the baby hadn’t ever touched the hedgehogs herself. The girl was infected by a family member. The same serotype was later diagnosed in many other cases.
Ringworm
Despite its name ringworm or Tinea is not a worm but is actually a fungal skin infection. One source of ringworm is known to be pet and wild hedgehogs. Over the past few months HedgehogsAsPets.com has been covering a story where three people were infected with ringworm by two hoglets bought from the same breeder.
The story becomes even more disconcerting when it transpires that the person in question had somehow evaded Britain’s stringent quarantine regulations and managed to import several hedgehogs directly into the UK from Germany. Usually anti rabies legislation requires hedgehogs to spend six months in a government regulated facility before they can be imported into the country.
What’s very strange about this case is that the breeder in question claims that the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) permitted her to quarantine her new imports at home, in a house that already contained, rats, snakes, lizards, sugar-gliders, hedgehogs and cats and dogs. The breeder later learned that the German breeder’s herd was infected with ringworm, but not before she had spread the disease from the “German” hedgehogs to her breeding pair. The offspring of these latter were sold and went on to infect three people with ringworm.
Along with the disease side of the story, it also exemplifies just what may occur when you purchase your pet from less than honest dealers or breeders. Despite many promises to refund the owners part of their vet’s fees after six months they have yet to see a penny.
Reducing the risk of infection
To reduce the risk of infection simply go to this site and follow the advice they give there: http://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/browse_by_animal.htm.
Purchasing your pet from a reputable breeder instead of a pet store, should provide you with more guarantees about the origins of the animal.
Even though the real risk of being infected by your pet is relatively small, owners should keep it in mind when handling their pets. The information you will find on the CDC website will assist you to minimise the risk.
Tags: diseases, hedgehog diseases, hedgehogs, RingWorm, Salmonella