Zoonotic transmission of Salmonella infections causes an estimated 11% of salmonellosis annually in the United States. This report describes the epidemiologic, traceback and laboratory investigations conducted in the United States as part of four multistate outbreaks of Salmonella infections linked to small turtles. Salmonella isolates indistinguishable from the outbreak strains were isolated from a total of 143 ill people in the United States, pet turtles, and pond water samples collected from turtle farm A, as well as ill people from Chile and Luxembourg. Almost half (45%) of infections occurred in children aged <5 years, underscoring the importance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation to keep pet turtles and other reptiles out of homes and childcare settings with young children. Although only 43% of the ill people who reported turtle exposure provided purchase information, most small turtles were purchased from flea markets or street vendors, which made it difficult to locate the vendor, trace the turtles to a farm of origin, provide education and enforce the United States federal ban on the sale and distribution of small turtles. These outbreaks highlight the importance of improving public awareness and education about the risk of Salmonella from small turtles not only in the United States but also worldwide.

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Reptiles are one of the fastest growing sectors in the United States pet industry. Reptile‐associated salmonellosis (RAS) continues to be an important public health problem, especially among children. We investigated an outbreak of human Salmonella infections resulting from serotypes Cotham and Kisarawe, predominately occurring among children. An outbreak of illnesses was identified in persons with exposure to pet bearded dragon lizards. Human and animal health officials, in cooperation with the pet industry, conducted epidemiologic, traceback and laboratory investigations. Onsite sampling was conducted at two US breeding facilities, one foreign breeding facility, and a large pet retail chain. A total of 166 patients in 36 states were identified with illness onset dates from 02/2012–06/2014. The median patient age was 3 years (range, <1–79 years), 57% were aged ≤5 years, and 37% were aged ≤1 year. Forty‐four patients (37%) were hospitalized, predominantly children. Sampling at breeding facilities and a national pet store chain resulted in isolation of outbreak serotypes at each facility; isolation proportions ranged from 2%–24% of samples collected at each facility.Epidemiologic, microbiologic and traceback evidence linked an outbreak of uncommon Salmonella serotypes to contact with pet bearded dragons. The high proportion of infants involved in this outbreak highlights the need to educate owners about the risk of RAS in children and the potential for household contamination by pet reptiles or their habitats. Strategies should be developed to improve breeding practices, biosecurity and monitoring protocols to reduce Salmonella in the pet reptile trade.

Leptospirosis is a global zoonotic disease that causes significant morbidity and mortality in human and animal populations. Leptospira interrogans is a leading cause of human disease, and L. borgpetersenii is a leading cause of animal disease. Cattle are reservoir hosts of L. borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo, which is transmitted via urine, semen, and uterine discharges resulting in abortion and poor reproductive performance. Bovine bacterin vaccines can only protect against those serovars included in vaccine formulations and typically include serovar Hardjo among others. Genotyping and serotyping represent two different and unique methods for classifying leptospires that do not always correlate well; comprehensive characterization using either method requires recovery of isolates from infected animals. In this study, we report for the first time, isolation of L. borgpetersenii serovar Tarassovi from the urine of a dairy cow in the U.S. The classification of the isolate, designated strain MN900, was confirmed by whole-genome sequencing, serotyping with reference antisera and monoclonal antibodies, Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization (MALDI), and immunoblotting with reference antisera. Strain MN900 was excreted in urine samples for 18 weeks even as the cow was seronegative for serovar Tarassovi. Strain MN900 has an unusual morphology since it is not as motile as other leptospires and lacks hooked ends. Serovar Tarassovi is not included in U.S. bacterin vaccines. These results demonstrate the importance of culture and concomitant genotyping and serotyping to accurately classify leptospires, and as required to design efficacious vaccine and diagnostic strategies to not only limit animal disease but reduce zoonotic risk.