Are there any diseases in sea turtles that are transferable to humans and vice versa?
Numerous bacterial infections have been identified from sea turtles. One type of bacteria that is transferable between turtle and humans is Salmonella, present in all turtles (land, fresh water and sea turtle species). It is advisable when handling a sea turtle to wear latex gloves or if not available, to thoroughly wash hands both before handling the turtle to rid of any bacteria on our hands, and after handling to rid of any bacteria on the turtle. Sea turtles are highly sensitive creatures that are well adapted to their sea environment, but are easily stressed when they come into contact with man made pollutants, such as agricultural pesticide runoff. Currently, one of the biggest threats to Green turtles in particular is a disease called “Fibropapillomatosis” or “FP” for short, although it has more recently been observed in other species of sea turtle. This is directly linked with areas of high levels of human activity and high levels of pollution.
