- Joined
- Aug 12, 2002
- Messages
- 313
It came to my attention this morning that Mr. Rick West, an often cited arachnologist, allegedly declared that theraphosidae are carriers of "flesh-eating bacteria" (S. aureus) in a legal statement that served as evidence in a court case.
I couldn't care less about the business aspects of the thread I read, but I'm dismayed by some manipulation of a fact presented in Mr. West's statement.
While theraphosids sometimes do have Staphylococcus aureus present on them, so does a good chunk of the human population, even in developed countries. Nearly half of all uncooked meat and poultry in the US does as well. Dogs and cats also carry S. aureus (some even have been infected with MRSA).
In short, it's everywhere, and infection is easily prevented.
It seemed the gist of Mr. West's assertion, based on other items he presented in the same paragraph, was constructed to deem theraphosid spiders as dangerous and perhaps unsuitable as pets. Unfortunately, he chose to use sweeping, hysterical rationale.
Wash your hands, cook food well, take daily showers, and don't French kiss your bugs.
I couldn't care less about the business aspects of the thread I read, but I'm dismayed by some manipulation of a fact presented in Mr. West's statement.
While theraphosids sometimes do have Staphylococcus aureus present on them, so does a good chunk of the human population, even in developed countries. Nearly half of all uncooked meat and poultry in the US does as well. Dogs and cats also carry S. aureus (some even have been infected with MRSA).
In short, it's everywhere, and infection is easily prevented.
It seemed the gist of Mr. West's assertion, based on other items he presented in the same paragraph, was constructed to deem theraphosid spiders as dangerous and perhaps unsuitable as pets. Unfortunately, he chose to use sweeping, hysterical rationale.
Wash your hands, cook food well, take daily showers, and don't French kiss your bugs.