Los Angeles health officials warned on Tuesday that a salmonella outbreak affecting several states might be linked with turtles. (Xinhua file Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    LOS ANGLES, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Los Angeles health officials warned on Tuesday that a salmonella outbreak affecting several states might be linked with turtles.

    Evidence showed that people handling turtles were among those being infected with salmonella, the Los Angeles Department of Public Health (DPH) said in a statement.

    The statement warned parents to be wary of buying turtles for their children.

    "Turtles are natural carriers of salmonella bacteria," said DPH spokeswoman Sarah Kissell. "So we strongly urge parents not to buy those small turtles you might find in a dime store as pets for their children."

    Kissell said if people do have pet turtles, they should take extra precautions to practice good hygiene.

    "We found that children were getting sick because they were kissing their pet turtles. So we want parents to guard against such facial contact," she said. "Also, it's very important to wash your hands after handling turtles and other reptiles. So parents need to educate their children on how to safely handle these animals."

    The salmonella outbreak, which was reported earlier this year, affected more than 100 people, included eight cases in the Los Angeles area. Symptoms of salmonella infection include bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramps, fever and vomiting.

    "Unfortunately, salmonella isn't the easiest infection to track. Most people just think they have food poisoning and treat it at home. So unless a specific check is done for that bacteria, we don't really know there's a problem," said Kissell.

Hot pepper, cilantro also suspects for salmonella in U.S.

U.S. health officials added hot peppers and cilantro as potential suspects to certain types of tomatoes after the number of people sickened in the ongoing salmonella outbreak surpassed 1,000 on Wednesday.(Xinhuanet Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, July 10 (Xinhuanet) -- U.S. health officials added hot peppers and cilantro as potential suspects to certain types of tomatoes after the number of people sickened in the ongoing salmonella outbreak surpassed 1,000 on Wednesday.

    "We continue to get new reported cases every day," Dr. Robert Tauxe, deputy director of the division of foodborne, bacterial and mycotic diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a teleconference. "This is the largest food-borne outbreak in the United States." Full story

U.S. broadens search for salmonella source

    BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhuanet)-- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expanding the testing of food beyond tomatoes to find the source of the salmonella outbreak that has sickened at least 943 people in 40 states and Washington, D.C.

    Although tomatoes are still the "lead suspect," the administration is now looking at other produce, its spokesman said on Monday. Full story