Editing Pythonidae (section)

=== Pythons and human health ===
While pythons are not venomous, they do carry a host of potential health issues for humans. Pythons are disease vectors for multiple illnesses, including [[Salmonellosis|Salmonella]], [[Chlamydia infection|Chlamydia]], [[Leptospirosis]], [[Aeromoniasis]], [[Campylobacteriosis]], and [[Zygomycosis]]. These diseases may be transmitted to humans through excreted waste, open wounds, and contaminated water.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Potential Zoonoses/Hazards Associated with Reptiles|url=https://ras.research.cornell.edu/care/documents/OHS/zoonosis_information_sheet_reptiles.pdf|journal=Cornell Center for Animal Resources and Education}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Ebani VV | title = Domestic reptiles as source of zoonotic bacteria: A mini review | journal = Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine | volume = 10 | issue = 8 | pages = 723–728 | date = August 2017 | pmid = 28942820 | doi = 10.1016/j.apjtm.2017.07.020 | doi-access = free | hdl = 11568/880208 | hdl-access = free }}</ref> A 2013 study found that Reptile-Associated Salmonella (RAS) is most common in young children who had been in contact with invasive pythons, with symptoms including "[[sepsis]], [[meningitis]], and bone and joint infection".<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Meyer Sauteur PM, Relly C, Hug M, Wittenbrink MM, Berger C | title = Risk factors for invasive reptile-associated salmonellosis in children | journal = Vector Borne and Zoonotic Diseases | volume = 13 | issue = 6 | pages = 419–21 | date = June 2013 | pmid = 23473215 | doi = 10.1089/vbz.2012.1133 | s2cid = 1311418 | url = https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/79426/1/Meyer_Vector-Borne_2013.pdf }}</ref>

Pythons are also integrated into some aspects of African health and belief use, often with the added risk of contacting zoonotic diseases. Python bodies and blood are used for African traditional medicines and other belief uses as well, one in-depth study of all animals used by the Yorubas of Nigeria for traditional medicine found that the African Python is used to cure rheumatism, snake poison, appeasing witches, and accident prevention.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

Python habitats, diets, and invasion into new areas also impact human health and prosperity. A University of Florida Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences study found that the [[Burmese python]], as an invasive species, enters new habitats and eats an increasing number of mammals, leaving limited species for mosquitoes to bite, forcing them to bite disease-carrying [[hispid cotton rat]]s and then infect humans with the [[Everglades virus]], a dangerous infection that is carried by very few animals.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Hoyer IJ, Blosser EM, Acevedo C, Thompson AC, Reeves LE, Burkett-Cadena ND | title = Mammal decline, linked to invasive Burmese python, shifts host use of vector mosquito towards reservoir hosts of a zoonotic disease | journal = Biology Letters | volume = 13 | issue = 10 | pages = 20170353 | date = October 2017 | pmid = 28978755 | pmc = 5665769 | doi = 10.1098/rsbl.2017.0353 }}</ref> While direct human-python interactions can be potentially dangerous, the risk of zoonotic diseases is always a concern, whether considering medical and belief use in Nigeria or when addressing invasive species impacts in Florida. In 2022, a woman who lived near a lake area in south-eastern [[New South Wales]] state, [[Australia]], was found to be infested with the [[Ophidascaris robertsi]] roundworm which is common in [[carpet python]]s - non-venomous snakes found across much of Australia.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-08-29 |title=Live worm found in Australian woman's brain in world first |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-66643241 |access-date=2023-09-26}} </ref>