CDC reports salmonella outbreak linked to dry dog food
By Giri Viswanathan, CNN
(CNN) — US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Thursday of a salmonella outbreak in humans that’s linked to dry dog food.
The agency issued a food safety alert, recording seven cases of salmonella across seven states that have resulted in one hospitalization. Most of those infected were infants.
The US Food and Drug Administration announced a recall of the Victor brand Hi-Pro Plus dry dog food linked to the outbreak. Several other brands of dry dog and cat food sold by Hi-Pro Plus’s manufacturer, Mid America Pet Food, are also under FDA recall.
According to the CDC, disease from salmonella bacteria infects 1.35 million people in US each year, mostly through ingesting contaminated food or water. Common symptoms include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps.
Though symptoms tend to go away on their own, some cases require hospitalization — which occurs over 26,000 times each year nationwide.
Infants are more likely to develop a severe salmonella infection because their immune systems are still developing, the agency said.
According to Thursday’s alert, people in the recent outbreak were infected by touching contaminated dog food, touching dog bowls that contained the dog food or touching the poop or saliva of dogs that were fed the dog food. The outbreak strain was found in the pet foods during routine testing, the CDC announced.
The CDC recommends that pet owners throw away the recalled pet food in a sealed trash bag to avoid wildlife encountering the bacteria. Pet owners should also clean surfaces like pet bowls that may have touched the pet food.
Individuals should contact a health care provider if they begin noticing symptoms like diarrhea and vomiting, the CDC said.
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