worried about salmonela

Question
Wondering if you can help me, I have a 7 month old beardie and he is very friendly, problem i have is my frind has just had a baby and when he brings the baby to our house he doesnt really like him crawling on the carpet as our beardie has the run of the house when he is out. can anything be picked up by my friends baby from the carpet, (eg salmonela).
Also my daughter is 3 and every time she handles our beardie we put sanitiser cream on he hands is this enough or should we also wash them?

Answer
Hi Paul, Your friend's concerns are quite valid especially with a young child. Salmonella can affect young kids and the elderly quite seriously,even requiring hospitalization. The fatalities that result from salmonella fall mainly within these two groups.  I have included a link from the Center for Disease Contol  with some case studies of reptile associated salmonella infections. You'll notice that the cases are virtually all young children and that they contracted the salmonella in quite indirect ways like touching clothing that had come in contact with the reptile.

As for you own daughter, I would encourage her to actually wash her hands with soap and water. Hand sanitizer is an good alternative when washing is not available or not practical but it is not as thorough as soap and water. Washing is an excellent habit to instill in her at this age and you may even notice that she acquires less human to human infections as well.

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5249a3.htm

This link is a Salmonella information handout distributed by the Association of Reptile and Amphibian veterinarians:

http://www.arav.org/salmonellaowner.htm