Listeriosis in a dog from recalled meat?
A Windsor, Ontario woman is convinced that her dog acquired listeriosis afetr eating recalled hot dogs. Last week, Maple Leaf Foods recalled various hot dog products because of low-level contamination with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, the cause of listeriosis. Her dog Tigger was fed four hot dogs one evening, and the next morning starting vomiting. He recovered after a few days of treatment. No specific testing was done to investigate the possibility of listeriosis.
Dogs can get listeriosis. Non-specific signs of infection including vomiting, diarrhea and fever are most common. Neurological disease can occur in a small percentage of cases. Listeriosis is extremely rare in dogs, however, despite the fact that dogs are certainly exposed to the bacterium periodically. Just because the dog ate recalled meat and got sick, it does not mean that the dog had listeriosis.
No human illnesses have been reported in association with this recall, and it's very unlikely that this dog actually had listeriosis. It's possible but I really doubt it. Dogs get gastrointestinal disease like this all of the time, from a variety of causes. Eating four hot dogs in one night could itself cause diarrhea in some dogs.
Some tips come to mind from this story:
- Limit feeding of treats to dogs. Four hot dogs is pretty excessive. Low fat, nutritious treats are better.
- Pay attention to recalls. Don't eat recalled food or feed it to your pet. At the same time, don't overreact to recalls. We are exposed to potentially infectious agents on a daily basis, but a combination of our immune system, normal bacterial populations in the intestinal tract, low levels of contamination and other factors mean that we don't usually get sick. If you are concerned about listeriosis, make sure processed meats are cooked before feeding.
- If you are really concerned or suspicious about a disease, make sure testing is done.
- If you think food is the source of a problem, save a sample. It might be useful to test the food.
More information about listeriosis in animals is available in the Worms & Germs archives.
Why not to feed puppies human breast milk (in case you needed a reason)
I came across an interesting (and somewhat bizarre) paper in the journal The Lancet from 1988. It described a case of listeriosis in a baby. Listeriosis is caused by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. Human infections are usually acquired from eating contaminated food. I made some comments about the risk of listeriosis to household pets in an earlier post during the recent foodborne outbreak of listeriosis in Canada that was associated with contaminated meat
The paper from 1988 puts a "new spin" on potential sources of infection for pets.
The baby described in the report was not breastfed for the first three days of life because her mother had some post-delivery complications. The surplus milk that was collected over those three days was reportedly fed to a litter of Doberman puppies. All three puppies in the litter became sick the day after the child began showing signs of illness. Listeriosis was diagnosed in both the baby and the puppies. Listeria monocytogenes was cultured from the mother's milk. Apparently the baby and the puppies were all infected by drinking the mother's milk. The baby, and two of the three puppies, survived.
Certainly, human-associated listeriosis in pets is extremely rare, and (presumably) so is feeding puppies human milk. This case just shows how infectious diseases can do strange things, and that diseases can move between people and animals in both directions. It also highlights that knowing the health status of both animals and people is important for physicians and veterinarians to make informed decisions about diagnosis and treatment of some diseases.
Listeriosis outbreak in Canada: are pets at risk?
An ongoing outbreak of listeriosis in people in Canada has been linked to prepared meat products from Ontario. At least six deaths have been reported, and others are under investigation. While it is unlikely that there has been widespread exposure of dogs and cats, it is certainly possible that some pets were fed the recalled (and potentially contaminated) meat.
Listeriosis is an infection caused by the bacterium, Listeria monocytogenes. It can affect many animal species, but it is rarely identified as a cause of disease in dogs and cats. When signs do occur, fever, diarrhea and vomiting are most commonly reported. Rare cases of neurological disease in dogs and cats, and one case of suspected miscarriage in a dog due to listeriosis have been reported. Listeria skin infection has also been reported in dogs.
Overall, the risk of listeriosis in pets associated with the tainted meat products is very low. Pets that ate any of the recalled food products do NOT need to be tested or treated if they are not ill. However, should a pet that ate recalled meat become ill, it is important to inform the animal's veterinarian about the potential exposure to Listeria.
