New Mexico
New Mexico warns against giving baby poultry as Easter gifts – New Mexico Political Report
By Austin Fisher, Source New Mexico
The New Mexico Department of Health is warning people against giving baby poultry as gifts on Easter Sunday this weekend because of chicks and ducklings’ links to salmonella risk.
Children who handle, snuggle or keep poultry inside homes face increased exposure to salmonella bacteria, which causes salmonellosis disease, DOH said in a news release on Tuesday morning.
“Even healthy-looking birds can shed salmonella, which can cause serious infection,” Sarah Shrum Davis, an epidemiologist with the bureau, said in a statement. “To prevent infection, children under 5 should not handle poultry. Make sure older children wash their hands after handling birds or their eggs. And do not kiss or snuggle live poultry.”
Davis told Source NM in an interview on Tuesday that salmonella normally resides in poultry’s gastrointestinal tract without making the birds sick, and when the birds poop, it is present in their feces.
Keeping poultry inside the home “highly increases” the risk of exposure to salmonella, she said.
“People can be concerned — baby chicks and ducklings are small — so maybe they keep them in the kitchen or somewhere warm where they’re safe from predators,” Davis said. “We advise against that.”
The same applies if someone spends time in a bird enclosure, even if they don’t touch the birds themselves, she said. Salmonella can live on surfaces for some period of time so if someone touches a surface where a bird has been, like their bedding, it is possible to be exposed.
“That’s why we recommend that people always wash their hands after they clean the coop, handle anything or touch anywhere the birds might have been,” Davis said. (Photo courtesy of Sarah Boses)
Symptoms of salmonellosis typically include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps, according to DOH, but more serious infections can spread from people’s intestines to the blood stream and throughout the body, which can be fatal if left untreated.
A higher risk of developing a serious infection and complications exists among infants, young children, older adults, transplant recipients, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
When Source NM asked the New Mexico Department of Agriculture about whether chicks and ducklings also carry any risk of spreading a strain of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) called H5N1, spokesperson Jenny Green told Source NM in an email that “the risk of salmonella is far greater than that of HPAI at this time.”
H5N1 was detected in a commercial chicken flock in Roosevelt County last April, and in a private backyard flock of chickens, ducks and geese in Bernalillo County in February.
Green wrote that as young people in 4-H and FFA programs participate this spring in “Chick Days” at farm supply retailers, NMDA and the New Mexico Livestock Board urge people to prevent the spread of both pathogens.
Green shared preventive measures including properly handling and cooking eggs, buying chicks from hatcheries approved by the National Poultry Improvement Plan, isolating new chicks for a month, wearing dedicated clothing and shoes when handling poultry, and reporting sick birds to the Livestock Board by calling 505-841-6161.
NMDA is also pointing people to best practices it published in March and from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in April.
For salmonella, DOH recommends preventive measures such as: thoroughly washing hands with soap and water after touching live baby poultry or anything in the area where they live and roam; not allowing live baby poultry inside homes or in kitchens and pantries or other areas where food or drink is prepared, served or stored; and consulting with a doctor if anyone experiences abdominal pain, fever or diarrhea.
As many as 130 cases of salmonellosis are reported in children each year in New Mexico, according to data compiled by the Infectious Disease Epidemiology Bureau at DOH.
In 2022, New Mexico had 465 total cases of salmonellosis among adults and children, according to the latest available DOH data.
DOH cited a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that salmonella causes about 1.35 million infections in the U.S. each year.
As of Feb. 24, CDC was investigating a salmonella outbreak among eight people, some of them children, linked to pet geckos in California, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Source New Mexico is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Source New Mexico maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Julia Goldberg for questions: info@sourcenm.com.
Related
The Bureau of Land Management will begin selling Christmas tree permits in New Mexico on Nov. 24.
Permits will be available at the Farmington, Taos, Socorro and Rio Puerco field offices, as well as at the New Mexico State Office, according to a community announcement. The permits must be purchased before Dec. 24 and cost $5 per tree.
Permits and maps can be obtained over the counter at local BLM offices or, for some locations, online at https://forestproducts.blm.gov. If purchasing online, buyers must have access to a printer to print the permit and map.
When transporting a tree taken from BLM public land, the haul tag provided with the permit must be attached to the tree.
The BLM has developed georeferenced maps compatible with any georeferenced map mobile application. Those with a smartphone can download a map before heading out to harvest a tree by visiting the BLM website.
Before visiting a local BLM office to obtain a permit, it is recommended to call the office to confirm services and staff availability. The locations where permits may be available include:
- Rio Puerco Field Office, 100 Sun Ave., NE, Suite 330, Albuquerque, NM 87109, (505) 761-8700
- Socorro Field Office, 901 S. Old U.S. Hwy 85, Socorro, NM 87801, (575) 835-0412
- New Mexico State Office, 301 Dinosaur Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87508, (505) 954-2000
- Farmington Field Office, 6251 College Blvd, Farmington, NM 87402, (505) 564-7600
- Taos Field Office, 1024 Paseo del Pueblo Sur, Taos, NM 87571-5983, (575) 758-8851
For more information about Christmas tree permits, contact the local BLM office or the BLM New Mexico State Office at 505-954-2222.
This story was created by reporter Andy Dossett, ADossett@usatodayco.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.
New Mexico football coach Jason Eck has agreed to a five-year contract extension that will keep him with the Lobos until 2030, the school announced Sunday.
In his first regular season as head coach, Eck took the Lobos to a 9-3 record — the program’s best mark since 1982 and only the fourth time they have won nine games since 1997.
Eck’s new deal includes an increase in average salary to $1.75 million from $1.25 million, sources told ESPN. A former Wisconsin offensive lineman, Eck spent three seasons as head coach at Idaho where he went 26-13 before being hired by the Lobos last December.
New Mexico’s nine-win season and 6-2 record in the Mountain West earned them a tie for first place in the conference. But the conference’s tiebreaker (based on a composite average of nationally recognized metrics: Connelly SP+, ESPN SOR, KPI and SportSource rankings) determined that Boise State and UNLV would face each other in the title game.
If Eck can lead the Lobos to a bowl win, however, it will be the first 10-win season the program has had in 43 years.
I moved my family to a tiny Wyoming town for 2 years to save money. Despite the drawbacks, our brief sacrifice paid off.
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