Zoo Visitors risking infection

[Guest guest]

Zoo visitors are risking infections by not paying heed to hygiene

after touching animals, research suggests.

Canadian researchers sent observers to 36 zoos which allowed people

to pet their animals.

 

Almost all had some sort of hand- washing facility, but less than one

in three visitors used them.

 

The study, published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, also found

parents brought along items that could easily pass infection to young

children.

 

You never know when an animal you have touched is contaminated with

something particularly bad

 

Dr Scott Weese

University of Guelph

 

These included baby bottles, dummies and infant toys.

 

The researchers also found that several zoos featured animals that

pose a high risk for transmitting infections, such as newborn calves

and baby chicks.

 

In addition, nearly one-third of animals at the zoos showed signs of

ill health, such as skin lesions, or diarrhoea.

 

Close contact with animals can pose a risk of infections, such as E.

coli and salmonella.

 

Pinning down risk

 

Lead researcher Dr Scott Weese, of the University of Guelph in

Ontario, said it was important that people washed their hands after

touching animals.

 

He said: " If I came across a petting zoo that looked run-down, with

no hand hygiene facilities, poor design, beat-up pens, I wouldn't

take my family in. "

 

Dr Weese said there was no way to quantify the risks, but stressed

that they were probably quite low for a healthy person.

 

" However, you never know when an animal you have touched is

contaminated with something particularly bad such as E. coli O157.

 

" Outbreaks of serious disease have occurred even with apparently well-

operated petting zoos, so one cannot make assumptions about risk. "

 

Dr Weese also warned that even healthy animals could shed a variety

of disease-causing pathogens.

 

Doctor Hamid Mahgoub, from the Health Protection Agency, said: " It is

important that people remember to wash their hands thoroughly,

especially after touching animals and before eating food.

 

" Children under five and elderly people are at a higher risk of

getting these types of infections, so it's really important that

parents make sure that their children wash their hands properly. "