In 2017 eleven cases of Salmonella infections were associated with contact with a ball python. Cases were reported from Arizona, Hawaii, Indiana, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington. Two serotypes were identified: Salmonella Paratyphi B Variant L(+) (Java) and Salmonella Mbandaka. Two cases were hospitalized. No one died.

Initially 5 outbreak associated cases of Salmonella Paratyphi B variant L(+) tartrate + (Java) were identified through PulseNet surveillance in the summer of 2017. One case each resided in Arizona, Oklahoma and Oregon. Two patients in Indiana resided in different households with no epidemiologic link. Onset dates ranged from June 17, 2017 to July 23, 2017. Five patients or their proxies completed a snake-specific questionnaire. Four reported exposure to a ball python in the residence. A ball python bedding sample from the Arizona residence and a ball python cloacal sample from the Indiana residence yielded Salmonella Paratyphi B variant L(+) tartrate + (Java). Sampling also identified Salmonella Mbandaka from a feeder rodent and a ball python from the Arizona resident. In addition, Oregon ball python environmental samples yielded Salmonella Oranienburg.