Bactrim DS Oral: Uses, Side Effects, Interactions, Pictures, Warnings & Dosing

CDC Warns 'Don't Kiss Or Snuggle Your Turtle,' As Salmonella Outbreak Spans 11 States

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning, "Don't kiss or snuggle your turtle, ... [+] and don't eat or drink around it." (Photo: Gett)

getty

This is turtle-ly something that you should not do. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a warning about turtles. And it's not because the CDC has something against turtle love. Their warning is "Don't kiss or snuggle your turtle, and don't eat or drink around it." The reason for the warning is an 11-state Salmonella outbreak that's already left 26 people sick and nine hospitalized. The suspected culprits behind this outbreak are turtles—specifically small ones with shells less than four inches long.

So far, there have been six reported Salmonella infection cases in Tennessee, four in Pennsylvania, and three in New York. Six states (Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia) have had two reported cases apiece. The remainder (California, Kentucky, and Missouri) have had one case each. The earliest reported illness began on October 27, 2022, and the latest on July 16, 2023. Those getting sick have ranged in age from under one year to 64 years. However, they have skewed towards the younger side with the median age being 14 years and 31% of them being under 5 years of age.

Now, it's not as if small turtles around the country have been admitting to spreading Salmonella and saying, "My bad." Rather, they became suspects based on interviews of 20 people who had gotten sick. Of these, 16 (80%) had "reported contact with pet turtles." In this case, "contact" meant that they had direct physical contact with turtles and not simply texting, WhatsApping, Zooming, or trading emojis or selfies with turtles. Turtles don't tend to use smartphones. There was also a small detail about many of these turtles: 12 of the interviewees mentioned that the turtles that they had come into contact with specifically had shells that was less than four inches long.

Such a finding might elicit an "Oh shell no" response from authorities. That's because federal law prohibits the sales and distribution as pets of turtles that have shells less than four inches long. Yes, this is a size-does-matter sort of thing since such small turtles have been more likely to cause infectious illnesses among young children. But guess what, not everyone has been complying with this federal ban because there are people who, you know, don't follow rules. You can still purchase such small turtles online and from various stores and markets.

Of course, just because a turtle has a shell that's over four inches long doesn't mean that you should start nuzzling with the turtle or sharing noodles with the turtle à la, "Lady and the Tramp" style. Larger turtles can carry Salmonella bacteria as well even when they look clean and healthy and say, "Ain't nothing on me." All kinds of turtles can carry Salmonella in their poop. And wherever turtles may stay for a while, poop there is. So, be careful when handling their tanks or anything else that they may have touched. Makes sure that you wash your hands thoroughly right after you've touched a turtle or anything touched by the turtle. And no matter how much you may view your turtle as a soulmate or need someone to snuggle with the 2004 rom-com A Cinderella Story, don't get too close to your turtle. Physically, that is. How close you get emotionally is really your business.

Small turtles are the suspected culprits behind an 11-state Salmonella outbreak has already left 26 ... [+] people sick and nine hospitalized. (Photo: Getty)

getty

A Salmonella infection is something that you do not want to have. If someone were to ask you whether you'd like to be infected with Salmonella, drop anything that they have given you to eat, back away slowly and say, "Absolutely not." Typically, six to 72 hours after enough Salmonella has gone down your yapper, you'll begin to suffer symptoms like diarrhea (often bloody diarrhea), fever, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, and headaches that end up lasting four to seven days.

Even bigger problems can emerge when a Salmonella infection goes beyond your intestines to other parts of your body. That's when life-threatening problems can result. This is more likely to happen when your immune system is weaker such as when you are under five years of age, over 65 years of age, or have a chronic medical condition.

So, while small turtles may be shell-a cute, try to resist their charms. And even if you are dealing with a larger turtle, take the necessary precautions to avoid a Salmonella infection. You don't want to play a shell game that ends up being diarrhea roulette.

In China's Wuhan, Cholera-causing Bacteria In Turtles Strikes Nerve

BEIJING--Detection in the Chinese city of Wuhan of a bacteria that caused cholera in a student and was separately found in samples from softshell turtles at a food market has struck a sensitive nerve with ordinary Chinese people, with some relating it to COVID-19.

The food market where samples from softshell turtles tested positive of the pathogen capable of causing cholera has been disinfected, local authorities said late on Thursday.

While no human cholera case was found among people who came in contact with the softshell turtles, the specific store selling them was ordered to shut down for three days.

Authorities said that the vibrio cholerae O139 strain for the student's infection, announced on Monday, and the contaminated samples are unrelated.

Officials are also tracking unspecified products of the same batch as the softshell turtles that have been shipped elsewhere, said the disease control authority in Wuhan's Hongshan district.

Despite a lack of solid signs of a cholera outbreak, netizens worried about another disease outbreak still made this issue among the top trending topics on China's Twitter-like microblog Weibo on Friday, with 200 million reads.

The earliest COVID-19 infections in late 2019 were initially linked to a local market in Wuhan that also sold seafood and fish products. The origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 remains a mystery and a major source of tension between China and the United States.

"Take the lesson of COVID and hurry up in source tracing to secure evidence!!!" wrote a weibo user.

Reports of cholera, an acute watery diarrhea disease potentially fatal if left without prompt treatment and usually linked to contaminated food or water, are rare in mainland China, with five cases in 2021 and 11 in 2020 but no deaths.

"The detection of Vibrio cholerae O139 ... Does again remind us that wet markets, while culturally and economically important in Asia, have associated with them various public health risks," said Andrew Greenhill, a microbiology professor at Federation University Australia.

At this point there is no major cause for concern while ongoing surveillance is important, Greenhill said, adding that O139 has been detected in various other countries and that large cholera outbreaks are unlikely in locations with safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.

"In fact to detect the strain demonstrates that surveillance is being conducted, which can only be seen as a positive."

Wuhan, with a population of more than 12 million, said on Monday the case of cholera in a local university student did not cause further infections.

Wuhan is yet to disclose sources of the bacteria for the student and the samples, or details on source tracing progress.

Jeff Beck Dies Suddenly Of Bacterial Meningitis, Amidst Unfounded Covid-19 Vaccine Claims

Jeff Beck, seen here at the Montreux Jazz Festival 2022, was 78. (Photo by Lionel FLUSIN/Gamma-Rapho ... [+] via Getty Images)

Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

Legendary guitarist Jeff Beck has died at age 78. A January 11 tweet from his Twitter account clearly indicated on behalf of his family that "after suddenly contracting bacterial meningitis, he peacefully passed away yesterday," as can be seen here:

from Twitter

from Twitter

Note that this tweet from Beck's account said absolutely nothing about Covid-19 vaccines. Yet, it didn't take too long for a bunch of anti-vaccination social media accounts to play the same old song. They started claiming that Covid-19 vaccines were somehow responsible for the unfortunate passing of the eight-time Grammy winner Beck. For example, someone posted on YouTube a video entitled, "Jeff Beck Dies Suddenly? Another Vaccine Casualty of War?" And searching for "Jeff Beck vaccine" on social media yielded a barrel of anti-vaccination slop as @Zimmsy suspected:

From Twitter

From Twitter

Some anti-vaccination accounts even tried to suggest that the bacterial meningitis was in some way due to the Covid-19 vaccine when there's no real evidence linking the two, as mentioned by Brian Hiatt, a Senior Writer for Rolling Stone:

From Twitter

From Twitter

Yeah, all of these claims were a bit like water in a whisky bottle. They offered no proof, making assertions without that little thing called evidence. Instead, there was lot of conspiracy theory talk and attempts to stir up suspicion. Talk about a discord progression.

But this has been a standard refrain seemingly every time there's news about someone dying from a sudden illness. Here's how things typically go. Often, within an hour of the news, even before any real details about the death emerge, a merry band of anti-vaccination social media accounts will quickly jump to action blaming the Covid-19 vaccines in some manner. They've done it with Betty White, Bob Saget, Coolio, and Queen Elizabeth II. Looks like they are now doing the same with Beck, who had twice been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as tributes to his illustrious guitar-playing career, once as a member of The Yardbirds in 1992 and once as a solo artist in 2009.

Hate to break it to everyone, but there are lot of things that can cause sudden life-threatening illness in this world. That's why medical textbooks are so thick. Heart attacks, strokes, burst aneurysms, and severe allergic reactions are just a few. Add a panoply of infectious diseases to the list including Covid-19. So it is absurd to suggest that every death from sudden illness is automatically due to Covid-19 vaccines. Plus, dying from a sudden illness is not something new. It's been happening for years upon years upon years, thousands and even millions of years before Covid-19 vaccines arrived on the scene. In fact, sudden illness used to be even more common before vaccines and antibiotics helped control what used to be some of the world's deadliest infections.

Bacterial meningitis is one those things that can arise quite suddenly and can kill quickly. Some can even die within a few hours. Those who survive can be left with a number of different permanent disabilities such as brain damage or hearing loss. Meningitis is a general term for inflammation of the meninges. The meninges are the membranes that wrap around your brain like wrapping paper around a Whopper. Lots of things including different microbes can cause meningitis.

Bacterial meningitis is when, not surprisingly, a bacterial infection causes this inflammation. Common bacterial causes include Streptococcus pneumoniae, Group B Streptococcus, Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae, Listeria monocytogenes, and Escherichia coli. None of these bacteria are good to have in your meninges. While some of these bacteria, such as E. Coli and L. Monocytogenes, can spread via food, the most common route is person-to-person contact via coughing, sneezing, or sharing saliva or spit.

You should consider meningitis if you have a sudden onset of fever, headaches, and, in particular, a stiff neck, assuming that you aren't wearing a really thick and tight turtle neck sweater. Be even more suspicious if there is also some combination of the following: nausea, vomiting, your eyes being particularly sensitive to light, confusion, seizures, or coma. Clearly, a coma is a very serious situation. You won't hear to many people call you and say, "Hey I am in a coma right now so may be a bit late for dinner."

If you suspect meningitis in any way, contact a doctor immediately. Don't wait. Don't try to walk or sleep it off or just drink a bunch of kombucha. The key to survival and to minimizing long-term disability is rapid diagnosis via finding evidence of bacteria in blood or cerebrospinal fluid samples. Once the type of bacteria is identified, doctors should quickly select and administer the proper antibiotic treatment.

Vaccines do have something to do with meningitis but not in the ways that the anti-vaccination accounts have been claiming about Beck. Vaccines can protect against certain types of bacterial infections that can cause meningitis. Meningococcal vaccines can protect you against N. Meningitidis. Pneumococcal vaccines can help guard against S. Pneumoniae. Haemophilus influenzae serotype b (Hib) vaccines can help prevent Hib infections. These vaccines aren't 100% effective but can really reduce your risk of getting these types of meningitis.

Now, if any of your housemates or apartment mates develop meningitis from either N. Meningitidis or Hib, don't start licking all of their possessions. Instead, tell your doctor immediately. Your doctor may recommend taking prophylactic antibiotics to protect you just in case you have caught the bacteria.

When news of Beck's death spread, many musical legends offered their tributes on social media such as Mick Jagger:

And Rod Stewart:

From Twitter

From Twitter

And Susanna Hoffs:

From Twitter

From Twitter

Unfortunately, at the same time, there have been far too many social media accounts offering just the opposite: attempts to exploit Beck's death in order to further their anti-vaccination agendas. And that folks, really strikes the wrong note and a nasty chord while Beck's family, friends, and fans are mourning the death of this musical legend.

---