The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday issued new guidelines with regard to how to protect oneself from getting salmonella amid information that 163 people became ill in 43 states after contact with backyard poultry.
Among other advice like washing hands after contact with fowl and to keep your birds outside of the house, as well as supervise kids in contact with birds, there is an additional recommendation not to kiss or snuggle the poultry.
"Don’t kiss or snuggle backyard poultry, and don’t eat or drink around them," the CDC said. "This can spread Salmonella germs to your mouth and make you sick."
This particular guideline was the one that raised some eyebrows online and prompted laughter among netizens, with many jokingly expressing outrage or offering other advice one could not possibly imagine to hear.
Some, however, apparently felt rebellious - one could only hope jokingly.
According to the CDC, there were no fatalities among the recent salmonella cases, and one-third of the cases were children under 5 years old. The agency noted that kids are more likely to get sick from germs like salmonella.