The Fish Vet's Blog

In the United States, selling turtles with a carapace less than 4 inches in length has been banned by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since 1975. Despite the FDA’s ban, small turtles continue to be sold in areas that are difficult to regulate, including stores, flea markets, and fairs, and from roadside or street vendors.

Australia has done quite the opposite, brining in laws to allow the sale of small turtles!

Not only is it poor welfare for the little turtles, but also, it is not a such a good idea as we learn of such lessons in the US about the increased zoonotic risks.

Read more below:

From: “Dr. David Scarfe” ;
Date: 30 June 2012 22:55:48 AWST
Subject: AquaVetMed: CDC Warnings on Salmonella from Pet Turtles

CDC issues new warning about salmonella from pet turtles
June 30, 2012

Atlanta, GA, USA –The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Pennsylvania Health Department are investing an outbreak of salmonella associated with exposure to small pet turtles. Small turtles are illegal, but they are still available from many less-reputable dealers. Sale of turtles with carapaces smaller than four inches has been prohibited in the U.S. since 1975 due to their risk of transmitting salmonella, but the CDC says “they are still available for illegal purchase through transient vendors on the street, at flea markets, and at fairs.”

This black-market wildlife trade has resulted in 132 reported cases of human salmonella infections across 18 states between August 2010 and September 2011. More than 60 percent of those cases were in children younger than 10. Of the 56 patients interviewed, 36 reported that they had been exposed to turtles. Fourteen of those patients identified “turtles too small to be legally traded,” the CDC reported in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Further investigation found that the water in turtle tanks in the patients’ homes tested positive for this particular strain of salmonella. As a result of this new outbreak, the CDC is warning that “turtles are not appropriate pets in households with young children or other high risk individuals,” such as pregnant women, the elderly and people with weak immune systems.

According to the report, small turtles pose a particularly high salmonella risk because they are tiny enough for children to place them in their mouths and handle them like toys. This is just the most recent outbreak of salmonella carried by small turtles. An outbreak in 2007 infected 44 people in five states. A 3-week-old baby girl in Florida died in March 2007 after being exposed to her family’s pet turtle.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also cautions against owning pet turtles, warning that salmonella can cause “diarrhea, fever, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting and headache.”

The CDC offers several tips for reducing the risk of turtle-associated salmonellosis, including thoroughly washing hands and any surfaces that turtles come into contact with. The agency recommends handling all turtles as if they could be contaminated with salmonella and warns that a negative salmonella test does not mean a turtle is not infected, as they do not “shed” the bacteria consistently.

As a result of this latest outbreak, the CDC says that increased enforcement against the sale of small turtles and increasing existing penalties could help decrease the likelihood of future infections.

For more CDC information and advice on Reptiles, Amphibians, and Salmonella go to http://www.cdc.gov/Features/SalmonellaFrogTurtle.

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Running blood tests that can generate information on the health of the animals including states of inflammation (e.g. bacterial infection), viral infection, their immunocompetence and more.

I believe there would be great value in aquaculture farms adopting this tool on a weekly basis as part of their normal routine. Traditional histopathology and bacteriology testing takes 4-7 days at the earliest to produce a result. Although haematology should not replace the traditional diagnostic testing, the single day turnaround time for results would allow the health advisors to check on the status of the fish health and to be able to quickly detect early signs of diseased states which will be amenable for early intervention. Because, “To be fore-warned, is to be fore-armed”.

Check out some pictures demonstrating sites for bloood/haemolymph collection here.

Following blood collection, check out this link for the best way to prepare a blood films.

Every fish farm should be routinely sampling and examining blood.