Pet Owners Infected with Salmonella from Tainted Pet Food

June 18, 2012 - PRLog -- In April, a major pet food manufacturer announced the recall of three brands of pet food due to concerns they may have been contaminated with Salmonella.  The following month two additional recalls of dog and cat food products were also announced.

The recalls followed an outbreak of salmonellosis in eight states that caused five people to be hospitalized.  Salmonellosis is an infection caused by bacteria known as Salmonella. It has been known to cause illness for over 100 years. According to the CDC, every year, approximately 40,000 cases of the illness are reported in the United States. Because many milder cases are not diagnosed or reported, the actual number of infections may be thirty or more times greater.

Most people infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most people recover without treatment. However, in some people, the diarrhea may be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized. In these patients, the Salmonella infection may spread from the intestines to the blood stream, and then to other body sites and can even cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics. The elderly, infants, and those with impaired immune systems are more likely to have a severe illness.

“Although the tainted products were all pet foods, some people handling the products were being sickened by cross contamination,” reported Joe Frasca, Senior Vice President, Marketing at EMSL Analytical, a leading consumer product and microbial pathogen testing laboratory. “If these contaminated products are touched by people who then inadvertently touch food products meant for human consumption the microbial pathogen can be spread.  Infected pets can also spread the bacteria in their feces which can lead to additional cross contamination opportunities.  Proactive consumer product testing can help prevent these types of outbreaks from occurring.”

EMSL recently sponsored an educational video about Salmonella that can be seen at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v59mjWwJZ8



To learn more about consumer product testing services, please visit www.ConsumerProductTesting.com or www.EMSL.com, call (800)220-3675 or email info@EMSL.com.

About EMSL Analytical, Inc.

EMSL Analytical is a nationally recognized and locally focused provider of environmental and materials testing services and products to professionals and the general public.  The laboratory is FDA registered, ISO 17025 and GMP compliant.