Raw Food Pet Treats: Good for Them, Bad for You?
By Carol A. Kemper, MD, FACP
Dr. Kemper is Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, Stanford University; Division of Infectious Diseases, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center
Dr. Kemper reports no financial relationship relevant to this field of study.
This article originally appeared in the August 2006 issue of Infectious Disease Alert. It was edited by Stan Deresinski, MD, FACP, and peer reviewed by Connie Price, MD. Dr. Deresinski is Clinical Professor of Medicine, Stanford University; Associate Chief of Infectious Diseases, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, and Dr. Price is Assistant Professor, University of Colorado School of Medicine. Dr. Deresinski serves on the speaker's bureau for Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Bayer, and Wyeth, and does research for Merck. Dr. Price reports no financial relationship relevant to this field of study.
ProMED-mailpost, June 29, 2006; www.promedmail.org
Earlier outbreaks of human salmonellosis related to feeding your pet pig ears or a nice undercooked hamburger patty off the grill have been discussed in this column. This account is the third published report of human salmonellosis associated with pet treats in North America. Investigations have confirmed that raw beef and salmon-containing pet treats were responsible for 9 cases of human salmonellosis in Western Canada and Washington state in 2004-2005. Six of the 9 patients from British Columbia, Washington State, and Alberta, Canada, recalled feeding pet treats to their dogs prior to onset of illness, and another 2 owned dogs. This is likely just the tip of what really occurred, since studies suggest that for every clinically identified case of salmonella infection, 38 unrecognized cases occur in the community.
Stool cultures yielded S. thompson, which was indistinguishable by pulse field gel electrophoresis from strains found in dog and salmon pet treats. Samples of salmon and beef pet treats manufactured at the Washington plant, and those collected at the BC plant by Canadian authorities, yielded a variety of organisms, predominately S. thompson. Up to 80,000 colony-forming units of salmonella per gram of salmon treats were discovered. Other Salmonella serotypes, including Montevideo, Newport, Give, Meleagridis, Cerros, Muenster, Agona, and Anatum were also found in treats from both the British Columbia and Washington plants. The treats are made from dehydrated, then rehydrated, raw beef and salmon. No irradiation or heat treatment intended to destroy bacteria was employed. No warning labels on the packages advised pet owners to wash their hands after handling. This article serves as a reminder that hand washing is important when handling any kind of raw foods or meats, even if it comes nicely packaged.
This article originally appeared in the August 2006 issue of Infectious Disease Alert. It was edited by Stan Deresinski, MD, FACP, and peer reviewed by Connie Price, MD.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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