Petting Zoos

[uphillklimber]

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[MtnMagic]

I just read about this afternoon and I can't remember where I saw it. Perhaps at www.CBSnews.com. It really makes sense to me. After a ton of kids are rubbing their germs on an animal's fur, the other kids pick up each other's bacteria, virus, and/or infections. That's what could start an epidemic. Not a good thing. Please wash your hands several times each day.
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Germs, the root of all evil!

 

[ctenidae]

Apparently, it's hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, caused by E coli, on very rare occasion. The current thinking is that it's caused by bacteria in the animal's feces. Goat shits, kid walks in it, touches his shoes. Not a truly scary thing- all the cases I found were in Orlando and North Carolina, both from fairs, not petting zoos. According to the AP, ther are 73,000 cases of E coli infection a year, of which 61 are fatal. Petting zoos in particular, and fairs in general, have many hand washing stations, quite effective at killing E coli.
For perspective, the CDCP estimates that about 90% of teh cases of "stomach flu" in teh US are actually mild cases of food poisoning, caused by careless food prep practices in home kitchens.