Topline
The FDA announced an updated recall of more pet food brands after six kids and one adult fell ill with salmonella, and the CDC believes they were infected by touching the food or containers the food was held in, or touching the saliva or stool of pets who ate the food.
Images of recalled pet food potentially linked to salmonella outbreak.
The Food and Drug Administration
Key Facts
Mid America Pet Foods, a Texas-based pet food manufacturer, is expanding its voluntary recall to include dozens of dry dog and cat foods after they were potentially linked to a salmonella outbreak in humans, according to a Thursday alert by the Food and Drug Administration.
The FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating seven cases of people infected with salmonella in seven states as of November 1 that resulted in one hospitalization; six cases involved kids one year and younger.
The recalled brands include Eagle Mountain Pet Food, Wayne Feeds Dog Food, Victor Super Premium Dog Foods and some Member’s Mark varieties.
A sample of Victor brand Hi-Pro Plus dry dog food collected and tested by South Carolina state agencies matches the strain of salmonella found in the seven ill people, according to the alert.
The manufacturer urges customers to destroy and dispose of all food with a best buy date before October 31, 2024 made at its Mount Pleasant, Texas facility, and wash and sanitize all pet food bowls, cups and storage containers, according to a news release.
Big Number
1.35 million. That’s how many people are infected with salmonella every year in the U.S., the CDC reports. Though most symptoms go away on their own, over 26,000 people are hospitalized with salmonella, and 420 people die annually.
Key Background
Those affected in this outbreak likely got sick from touching the recalled food, objects the food was contained in, like food bowls, or touching the stool or saliva of animals who ate the food, the CDC reports. Salmonella infection is a common bacterial disease that affects the intestinal tract. People are typically infected by eating raw meat or eggs, drinking unpasteurized milk, eating food that touched contaminated surfaces, or eating improperly washed vegetables. Young children are more likely to develop a severe salmonella infection due to their weaker and developing immune systems. Most people have symptoms like diarrhea, fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and headache that last between four and seven days. Pets don’t always display symptoms, but symptoms in dogs include dehydration, fever, bloody diarrhea, severe, sudden and watery diarrhea, lethargy and decreased appetite, with or without weight loss. These symptoms are also present in cats, but shock, anorexia, skin disease, mucus in stool, abnormally fast heartbeat, abnormal vaginal discharge, swollen lymph nodes, loss of blood and nonintestinal infections are also signs of salmonella in cats.
Tangent
This is the latest of over a dozen pet food recalls linked to or potentially linked to salmonella this year. The most recent, unrelated recall happened on October 27 and affected Blue Ridge Beef dog food products after they were found to be contaminated. The products were distributed between August 9 and August 25, and sold in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia. No illnesses were reported.
Further Reading
Blue Ridge Beef recalls dog food due to salmonella contamination (CBS News)
