In some ways, it doesn’t surprise me because it’s happened many times before. However, you’d think that, at some point, things would start to improve.

Apparently not.

The US CDC is reporting yet another outbreak of salmonellosis associated with contact with feeder mice, that is, mice produced commercially to feed to pet reptiles. Sadly, this outbreak is quite similar to previous outbreaks. Multiple people (37 confirmed so far) in multiple US states (18 so far) have become ill, and 15% of affected people were hospitalized.

Investigation of the outbreak led to Reptile Industries Inc, which sells mice through PetSmart under the brand name Arctic Mice.

As I mentioned a few days ago about a salmonellosis outbreak linked to a company that sells eggs for hatching chicks, there seems to be no ability or effort (not sure which one is the case) to do anything about the source of these outbreaks. The FDA has issued a notice that “In the absence of a voluntary recall from Reptile Industries, Inc, FDA issued a warning to pet owners who have purchased frozen rodents packaged by Reptile Industries, Inc since 11 Jan 2014 that they have the potential to be contaminated with salmonella. Reptile Industries, Inc packages frozen rodents for PetSmart stores nationwide and are sold under the brand name Arctic Mice.

The issue may be that these mice are not being sold as human food, so there’s no ability to mandate a recall. Yet, people are clearly getting sick from them, so it makes no sense that a recall and careful investigation of the facility and its practices is not underway. People purchasing feeder rodents need to remember:

  • Freezing doesn’t kill Salmonella.
  • Frozen rodents can be (and often are) contaminated with Salmonella and presumably various other pathogens.
  • All feeder rodents should be considered contaminated and basic hygiene practices should be used when handling them at all times. This includes storing them away from human food, thawing them in sealed containers in a manner that won’t contaminate human food or food-preparation surfaces (including the kitchen sink), and hand washing after contact with rodents or packaging.