§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if there is any medical evidence of human health risks from contaminated red-eared terrapins.
§ Mr. DorrellIn every outbreak of salmonellosis investigated by the public health laboratory services communicable disease surveillance centre (CDSC) in England and Wales, questions are asked about contact with pets and other animals. CDSC has yet to document an outbreak associated with terrapins.
A number of studies into terrapin associated salmonellosis have been carried out in the United States of America. These studies are mostly 10 or more years old but a study in 1985 showed that 10 out of 60 infant cases in Puerto Rico has a history of exposure to pet turtles. (In this context turtle is the American term for terrapin.) However, the information from this study cannot be extrapolated to all cases in the United States of America, still less to cases in England and Wales.
The salmonella serotypes most commonly associated with terrapins in the United States of America are rare in this country. In 1989 and 1990 there were no reports at all of infection with S Urbana, the serotype most strongly associated with terrapins in American studies. There is no prima facie evidence that terrapins constitute a significant public health problem in England and Wales.