By Miranda Hitti (WebMD Medical News) -- Jan. 24, 2008 -- The CDC today blamed small pet turtles for infecting at least 44 people in five states with salmonella bacteria. Salmonella infection usually causes diarrhea, which may be bloody. Serious complications and death can also occur but are rarer. Those cases, which happened since May 2007, mostly affected young kids who played with or cared for the turtles. No deaths have been linked to the salmonella outbreak. Cases were reported in California, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, and Wisconsin. “These turtles are a risk to the public and especially to young children,” states the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
