A Bearded Dragon sits in a tank at the Ashville Game Farm and Exotic Zoo on Tuesday, July 24, 2012 in Greenwich, N.Y. (Photo by Lori Van Buren/Albany Times Union via Getty Images) Albany Times Union via Getty Ima

In late 2024, the CDC reported a salmonella outbreak unusual for not being foodborne or linked to a restaurant chain. Instead, the culprit was traced to pet bearded dragons. Now the full details have been reported in the CDC journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report . By the time the investigation closed, 27 people in 14 states were found to have been infected. Most were young children, and half were infants. Ten patients required hospitalization.

The bacterium behind the outbreak, Salmonella enterica Cotham, is a rare strain that almost never shows up in routine

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