Children who have pet turtles should wash their hands more often to avoid salmonella infection transmitted by the animals, a doctor said on Friday.
Citing two cases involving six-year-old children, Taichung Hospital Department of Pediatrics director Chen Min-kung (陳敏恭) said that he treated both for fever, stomachache and diarrhea due to salmonella infection.
A boy surnamed Kuo (郭) was last month hospitalized after experiencing diarrhea up to eight times per day, and a girl surnamed Hsu (徐) was hospitalized after experiencing diarrhea, a cough and low urine output, he said.
Their symptoms eased after treatment, but persisted, and they also had green stool, Chen said.
While inquiring into the sources of infection, Chen learned that they both recently started keeping a pet turtle, he said.
Healthy turtles have salmonella bacteria in their digestive tracts, Chen said, adding that the children might have been infected through the animals’ excrement while playing with their pets.
Children with pet turtles are at risk of salmonella infection if they do not wash hands after touching the animals, he said, adding that other sources of infection are spoiled milk or eggs.
Symptoms of salmonella infection, such as diarrhea, stomachache, fever or vomiting, often occur after an incubation period of one or two days, he said.
Blood in stool, headache, joint ache, dehydration or shock might occur during more severe infections, Chen added.
Children under five and people over 65, as well as people with weak immune systems, are at risk of developing meningitis and osteomyelitis due to a salmonella infection, he said.
Chen also called on pet stores to provide information on the risk of salmonella infection to people interested in buying pet turtles.
Parents of children with pet turtles should also pay attention to the issue, he said.
If their children experience nausea, diarrhea or fever, parents should send them to hospital immediately to avoid serious complications, Chen said.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
MULTIPRONGED APPROACH: China has sought to pressure Palau across a number of fronts, but the island nation has staunchly resisted overtures to ditch Taiwan Palau has been firm in backing Taiwan despite Chinese pressure that uses tourism economics, cyberattacks and criminal infiltration as tools to threaten the Pacific ally into renouncing its recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign state. The Presidential Office yesterday announced that Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) would visit Palau from Saturday to Wednesday next week at the invitation of Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr. Whipps in April said in an interview that China had outspokenly asked Palau to “denounce Taiwan.” “And we have said: ‘We have no enemies, but nobody tells us who our friends are,’” he said. Whipps has told reporters multiple times
RSS