Is the turtle flu caused by pollution?

Answer 1

There is no disease that people get that is officially called Turtle Flu, however, there may be some people who call the gastrointestinal infection caused by the bacteria Salmonella, that is common in turtles, "Turtle Flu". It causes symptoms similar to those of "stomach flu".

Neither "stomach flu" nor Salmonella infections are really flu/influenza. Flu is a respiratory disease in humans caused by a virus and most influenza viruses are not frequently associated with gastrointestinal symptoms.

There are viruses that cause diarrhea and vomiting that are often incorrectly called "stomach flu". The specific virus that causes this is often the Norovirus and not an influenza type of virus.

Salmonella is a bacterium found commonly in turtles and you should be warned to not touch them in the wild, and to be sure if you do that you wash your hands as soon as possible to remove any bacteria housed by the turtle. Salmonella is the common bacteria that causes the most prevalent type of "Food Poisoning". My guess would be that people are using the term Turtle Flu to refer to the diarrhea and vomiting that you get from Salmonella transmitted from turtles to humans. It is bacterial and totally different than viral influenza.

There is likely no relationship between pollution and Salmonella infections or pollution and viral gastroenteritis. Bacteria are everywhere and Salmonella is a common kind of bacteria (especially in chickens and eggs). There is also likely no causative relationship between real influenza and pollution, except air pollution can definitely worsen any respiratory disease or infection and cause complications and secondary symptoms.