Contaminated by an unusual pet

A man plays with his pet squirrel in a park in Shijingshan district, Beijing. Photo: Li Hao/GT

In China, the tortoise has traditionally been regarded as auspicious animal auguring good health and longevity. So several weeks after retiring from his job as a driving instructor, 58-year-old Li Xianming spent nearly 3,000 yuan ($490) to buy a rare, imported species as a talisman for his life ahead.

However, Li's tortoise did not bring him good health. Instead, it brought him a painful infection, after he scratched his finger while washing the tortoise's glass tank.

"At first, my right middle finger started feeling itchy. Then a lot of small red welts started appearing," said Li. "After that, I started to have welts all over the back of my hand. I was quite scared."

Li went to the hospital and was diagnosed with aquarium granuloma, also known as "fish-tank granuloma." The skin condition is caused by a rare bacteria called mycobacterium marinum, which usually infects people through wounds in the skin.

"The doctor said it was highly possible that the infection was due to the tortoise because the bacteria is only carried by aquatic animals," said Li. "He said that even if the bacteria was not carried by the tortoise originally, it could have been transmitted from other aquatic animals that the tortoise was transported to China with."

In recent years in China, a market has emerged for the keeping of animals that are exotic or otherwise not commonly thought of as pets. Some are keeping animals that are fairly mundane, such as tortoises, rodents, and rare fish. But others are seeking out rarer and endangered animals, from apes to birds of prey.

A number of these animals are illegal to keep as pets in China, and are obtained on the black market. Even those that can be legally kept as pets may not have entered the market legally, as Li discovered when he tried to return the tortoise to the man from whom he bought it.

"When I showed the vendor my infection and asked him if he had permission to import the turtle, he refused to reply," Li said.

A spokesperson for the Chengdu Conservation Society of Amphibians and Reptiles of the Chinese Academy of Sciences estimated that there were "hundreds of thousands" of people in China who kept uncommon or exotic animals as pets, a large number of which had been smuggled to China illegally.

Besides the ethical objections that can be raised against owning such animals and the dangers these animals might pose to their owners by keeping them in confinement, infectious disease experts have warned people to beware of the possibility of contracting dangerous diseases from these animals.

Zhang Jijun, an official at the Beijing Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, told the Beijing News this month that animals being trafficked illegally on the black market pose great risk to owners, as they have not undergone the regulatory screening processes for infectious disease required by law.

Ailing alpacas

In recent years in China, alpacas have become one of the most sought-after animals to be kept as a pet. Native to South America, they are now bred in this country, as well as a number of others including Australia, Japan, Germany and the US.

"Young people really like alpacas, because they're novel, docile and adorable," said Xiao Qinglin, 29, whose boss recently bought two alpacas for his wedding planning business. "My boss bought his alpacas from Shandong Province, but a lot of people now buy them directly from online stores on Taobao."

Zhou Zhongqin, who manages a company in Beijing that sells and rents alpacas called China Alpaca Base, said that animals are so popular that they are having trouble meeting demand.

"Although it costs between 40,000 yuan ($6530.72) and 70,000 yuan to buy an alpaca, our supply always falls short of demand," said Zhou. "We've received so many orders that we can't keep track."

Despite their popularity, infectious disease experts warn that alpacas can carry harmful diseases that can be transmitted to humans. In August this year, the Beijing Youth Daily reported that 13 alpacas from Chile were put down by Beijing Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau after testing positive for Q fever, an acute infectious disease that can be contracted in humans through contact with the milk, urine, feces, vaginal mucus or semen of the infected animal. Humans infected with Q fever can experience respiratory problems, in addition to flu-like symptoms, including fever, nausea and severe headaches.