FRIDAY, June 14, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Having chickens or ducks in your yard might carry salmonella dangers, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns.

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The agency says an outbreak of the gastrointestinal illness, tied to backyard poultry, has now sickened nearly 280 people in 41 states and sent 40 to the hospital. Although salmonella illness can be severe, so far no deaths have been reported.

Some of the infections have proven resistant to treatment by multiple antibiotics, the CDC noted.

The bacterial disease is being spread by having contact with the birds. People who got sick said they touched chicks and ducklings they bought from agricultural stores, websites and hatcheries.

A third of those sickened are kids under five who may have gotten too close to young poultry.”Don’t kiss backyard poultry or snuggle them and then touch your face or mouth,” the CDC advises.

To prevent salmonella the CDC advises:

  • Wash your hands after touching poultry anything in their environment.
  • Keep backyard poultry out of the house, especially in places where food is prepared, served, or stored.
  • Set aside shoes to wear while taking care of birds and keep those shoes outside.
  • Kids under five and adults over 65 and those who have health problems that reduce the effectiveness of their immune system shouldn’t touch chicks, ducklings, or other poultry.
  • Never eat where poultry live or roam.
  • When cleaning any equipment or materials used to raise or care for poultry, stay outside.

People infected with salmonella can have diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps that usually lasts four to seven days. Most people recover without treatment.

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