CDC Warns Against Fish Pedicures
The CDC has decided that fish eating humans is a terrible thing and must be stopped at all costs. If you are not familiar with them, Garra rufa, an inch-long toothless carp also known as “doctor fish”, have been used in spas increasingly as a method of removing dead cells from ones feet. What’s better than having a bunch of fish munch on your gross bunions?
In April 2011, a bacterial outbreak among 6,000 doctor fish brought from Indonesia to British beauty venues revealed colonies of Streptococcus agalactiae, a group of bacteria that can lead to sepsis, meningitis, or pneumonia. As a result the CDC started an investigation into the safety of fish-toe munching.
“Our study identified some of the species of bacteria associated with this fish species, including some that can cause infections in both fish and humans,” lead researcher David Verner-Jeffreys told a wire service.
Water, he added, is a fertile breeding ground -- and when partnered with bacteria thriving on fish scales or waste, even the tiniest cut could allow infection to happen readily.
I guess I will have to find a new way to keep my feet silky smooth…
