While live bird markets are uncommon in the Midwest, animal exhibits such as those at county fairs are quite common. Such exhibits are similar to live bird markets in that they involve transport and mixing of animals from different locations, crowded conditions, and a general lack of sanitation. Approximately 125 million people visit agricultural fairs every year in the United States (13) . Fairs usually involve close proximity of food vendors to animal exhibits. Many animal exhibits encourage or allow visitors to touch animals. Small children are frequent visitors to county fairs and animal exhibits, and children also engage in behavior such as nail biting that may make them more likely to ingest infectious agents. Live animal exhibits such as petting zoos and open farms, which are in many ways similar to county fairs, have also been implicated in outbreaks of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and other bacterial diseases (13, 14) .