AN ALERT IN USA

Pediatrics Academy of the United States is alerting all north Americans, specially children and youngsters, about the danger of buying and keeping at home wild animals due to the high risk of transmission of diseases.

Dr. Larry Pickering, from CDC Atlanta, official institution responsible for monitoring infection diseases, alerted: "It is clear that many parents do not understand the danger of the various infection diseases that these animals frequently have and transmit. We estimate that 11% of the diseases in children caused by salmonella are derived from the contact with iguanas, lizards, turtles, snakes and other reptiles". According to a recent study, more than 4 million North American homes have reptiles as pets, living together with the families.

The alert covers all kind of wild animals, since monkeys until hedgehogs, including guinea pigs, mice, chicks, rabbits, turtles, lizards and iguanas.

In other action, Florida Fishes and Wild Life Conservation Committee has been asked to establish a control process of iguanas, which having been being abandoned by their owners. This generated a big population of the animal in South Florida, reason of complain by the population.