ND agencies encourage safety around live poultry

North Dakota Health officials are encouraging people who come into contact with live poultry to take precautions to avoid illness.

North Dakota Epidemiologist Laura Cronquist says contact with live poultry or their environments can be a source of germs such as Salmonella and E. coli.  There is also a potential for infection with avian Influenza A virus.

Cronquist says people may become ill after holding, cuddling or kissing baby birds or by touching areas where poultry live or roam.  So far this year eight cases of Salmonella infection associated with contact with live poultry in North Dakota – 884 outbreak cases nationwide.

Symptoms of Salmonella infection may include diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and fever, which usually begin six hours to six days after exposure.  In some cases the infection can spread to other parts of the body leading to severe and potentially life-threatening illness.