Don: Did you have a pet when you were a kid, Yael?

Yael: Sure, Don. We had a couple of dogs, a cat . . . What about you?

D: All I had was a pet turtle that tried to kill me.

Y: Wait . . . what?

D: I didn't know it at the time, but I was just reading a report about how turtles carry      salmonella--a bacterium that can cause poisoning. Did you know that salmonella      infects over one million people every year and that four-hundred people die from it?

Y: Okay, but not all of those cases are because of turtles. And it doesn't mean that your      turtle was actually trying to kill you.

D: I know. It just sounded more dramatic saying it that way. But those little turtles really      are dangerous. Lots of reptiles carry Salmonella. But turtles are cute, right, so it's fun      to pick them up and play with them. And that's how people get infected.

Y: Wow. It sounds like people shouldn't be allowed to own turtles.

D: They're not, at least small ones. The sale of small turtles was banned in the U.S. in      1975. But, of course, people still find them or buy them illegally. And every year      dozens of kids get sick from playing with their pet turtle.

Y: So your advice for turtle lovers . . .?

D: Love them from a distance, but don't keep them in your house. Because remember:      turtles are cute, but can be contaminated.  

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