Iowa is bracing for below zero temperatures and truly frightening wind chills. There's a number of ways to DEAL with the cold - but apparently one of them is NOT to snuggle with your hedgehog. The Center For Disease Control is warning against it.
Turns out that 11 people across the country have now been infected with an illness transmitted by pet hedgehogs.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning for those that have pet hedgehogs. Their advice is to not cuddle or get too close to these pets as they found the bacterial infection, caused by a certain strain of Salmonella, in samples collected from hedgehogs in some of the infected peoples’ homes.
Its reported that 10 of the 11 infected people confirmed recent contact with hedgehogs, and one person is now hospitalized because of the illness. More than half of the cases were in children under the age of 12. The states affected by the outbreak are Texas, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Colorado.
Let's not add to the list, Iowa!