What with the Omicron coronavirus variant running rampant, the last thing beleaguered Britons – especially reptile owners – need is another reason to have to wash their hands.
But we have one. The Food Standards Agency, along with every other public health watchdog under the feeble winter sun, has warned of an outbreak of human salmonellosis linked to frozen mice used to feed snakes.
The FSA has issued a product recall and advises snake owners to wash their hands thoroughly after feeding their pets.
This outbreak is a bit more of a slow burner than Omicron though, with almost 900 cases of Salmonella poisoning occurring since it was first reported. Way back in 2015.
Despite having the appearance of a decrepit old galoot, UTC fancies himself as a man of action and wondered why the FSA waited seven years to issue a warning.
More importantly, given that snakes are cold-blooded, he also asked – with a twinkle in his eye – if it wouldn’t be a bit kinder to defrost the mice before serving them.
