The Public Health Agency of Canada is investigating an outbreak of Salmonella infections in Canada that reportedly involves snakes or feeder rodents.

They say many of the individuals who got sick reported having direct or indirect contact.

As of April 13th, there were 45 cases of Salmonella reported in eight provinces.

They’ve found one in British Columbia, five in Alberta, one in Saskatchewan, three in Manitoba, 22 in Ontario, 11 in Quebec, and one each in New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.

An investigation was launched this spring because of the increase in salmonella infections across the country.

Individuals became sick between February last year and March of 2023.

Nine individuals have been hospitalized, and one person has died.

Nine of the cases involve children under 5 years old.

Public Health is advising anyone who has dealings in these situations, to practice good hand hygiene, frequent handwashing, and safe handling of snakes and rodents, their food, and their environments.

It adds most who get sick from a Salmonella infection will recover fully after a few days.

Some people can be infected with the bacteria and not get sick or show any symptoms, but may still be able to spread the infection to others.

Symptoms of salmonella include:

• fever
• chills
• diarrhea
• abdominal cramps
• headache
• nausea
• vomiting

Symptoms usually last for 4 to 7 days.

A full list of suggestions on how to protect yourself while handling snakes or feeder rodents can be found on the Public Health Agency of Canada website.