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AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER ADVISES CAUTION WITH EASTER CHICKS
With Easter right around the corner, West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass is advising parents that the traditional Easter gifts of baby chicks or ducklings can be a source of disease.
“Hand-washing after handling baby chicks is an important safeguard against disease,” said Commissioner Douglass. “Just as we warn parents to make sure their children wash their hands after visiting petting zoos, we want them to take the same precautions with animals in the home, especially when young children are involved.”
Poultry can carry salmonella bacteria in their intestines, which is excreted in their feces. Young children who frequently have their fingers in their mouths are likely to ingest the bacteria and become ill, he explained.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 81 people in 22 states fell ill last spring after contracting salmonella from chicks. The record three outbreaks occurred around Easter, and at least some of the cases were believed to stem from birds given as gifts.
Salmonella is an infection that causes diarrhea, fever and vomiting. The bacteria live in the intestines of chickens and spread through their feces, which can cling to a bird’s feet, even if it looks clean.
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The West Virginia Department of Agriculture protects plant, animal and human health through a variety of scientific, regulatory and consumer protection programs, as mandated by state law. The Commissioner of Agriculture is one of six statewide elected officials in West Virginia. Currently, Commissioner Gus R. Douglass is the longest-serving agriculture commissioner in the nation. For more information, visit www.wvagriculture.org.
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