Exotic pets such as monkeys, hedgehogs, rodents and reptiles should be avoided by children, a new report published in the October issue of Pediatrics suggested.

Avoiding the contact between children and nontraditional pets is a recommendation generated by the fact that such birds and animals could cause disease to spread for those who have weak immune systems.

The report, which was released by the American Academy of Pediatrics, is the first comprehensive statement on the link between exotic pets and their impact on children’s health, according to study co-author Dr. Robert Frenck, a pediatrics professor at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and a member of the AAP committee on infectious diseases.

Some may say the findings are not worth mentioning. However, there are voices claiming the study’s results are actually very important, because reptiles and amphibians could be carriers of salmonella, the most frequently reported cause of food borne illness, and cause an estimated 74,000 cases of the disease per year. "From the standpoint of public education and from the standpoint of not only pediatricians but also family practitioners, this is important," said Dr. Charles Miller, a professor of pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

Furthermore, the report disclosed that, in the wild, rodents such as squirrels, woodrats or mice can carry plague (also known as the Black Death), the disease that devastated the European continent in the 14th century. In addition to this, people should know that even direct exposure to the aquarium water of fish can lead to contracting the bacteria, the authors wrote.

Starting 1992, the number of exotic pets in the United States has increased by 75 percent. However, many of them were imported illegally.