A huge series of outbreaks of the potentially deadly salmonella outbreaks have been traced to a source, or sources: people who just can’t resist kissing or cuddling chickens.

Four outbreaks have been reported in the United States that have resulted in the illnesses of 181 people, and they have spread to 40 states, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as reported by the Mirror.

The virus, which is transmitted from poultry like chickens and ducks to human beings, has resulted in 30 people being hospitalized. Authorities have interviewed 95 people who contracted salmonella and found that a whopping 82 of them had been in contact with poultry just a week before the outbreaks.

Many of the ill people have purchased chickens and ducks to live in their backyards so that they could collect their eggs, raise them for food, or just treat them as pets — sometimes even bringing the birds into their homes, or kissing or cuddling with them — behaviors that can result in immediate transmission of the disease. Most people think of salmonella as coming from raw or undercooked poultry, which it does, but it also comes from the live birds themselves.

Many people who get salmonellosis recover without treatment, but some get severe cases of diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever, which can set in anywhere between 12 and 72 hours after the initial infection happens. Some require hospitalization, and others are at risk of death, especially older individuals, children, and those with compromised immune systems.