HHS HealthBeat (May 8, 2009)

Strange beasts

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

They may look cute, and you may be the first on your block to have one. But when you bring in an exotic pet, you may also bring in exotic diseases that could infect you and your family.

At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Nina Marano says one case in point is Bartonella. That’s a germ, not a pet. Bartonella can cause chronic joint pain, heart valve infections and muscle inflammations.

Marano says small mammals imported to Japan included animals from North America that carried Bartonella.

[Nina Marano speaks] ``Some people want these small exotic mammals because they’re cute, but they need to know where their pet comes from. Bartonella is an identified risk associated with ownership of exotic animals, and has serious health consequences.’’

The report was in a CDC journal, Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: May 7, 2011