This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
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When we get infected by salmonella, it usually comes from things like undercooked meat or contaminated eggs. Sometimes, it comes from sharing germs with Komodo dragons, as some Colorado children found out in 1996.
Read about this surprising origin for a salmonella outbreak in my latest piece at Nautilus Magazine: The Near-Mythical Beast That Spread an All-Too-Real Disease
Image: Komodo dragon at the San Diego Zoo copyright the author. Photographed in July 2013.