A bacterial infection that has affected over 100 people has been linked to pet store puppies.
The outbreak of Campylobacter jejuni bacteria started in early 2016 and went until February 2018. It affected people from across 18 states. The bacteria causes abdominal pain, diarrhea, and fever. Of those that fell ill, 29 are pet store employees.
An investigation that began in August 2017 eventually deduced that puppies were the source of the problem.
The Risk Continues
The study also said there is a continued risk to breeders, distributors, transporters, and stores related the pet industry, as well as pet owners.Twenty-six people were reported hospitalized from the outbreak, and 63 percent of 115 infected people were female. The CDC also reported that 105 of 106 people who reported being ill had dog exposure.
The report did not name the pet store chains, nor did it name the original Ohio pet chain that led to the multi-state investigation. Of 149 puppies investigated, 142 had received antibiotics.
At the time, WHO commented on the potential impacts of restricting antibiotics in the food industry. “These impacts may be positive or negative. WHO considers, however, that the need to preserve antimicrobials or antibiotics for human medicine by far outweighs possible impacts in some other sectors,” WHO said, according to STAT.
According to WHO, in some countries, 80 percent of antibiotics are consumed for use in food animal production, STAT reported. WHO hopes to curb their use as a preventative agent.
“That’s why the WHO guidelines are meaningful—they make clear that in order to stop the misuse of antibiotics in the meat industry we need policies that prohibit antibiotic use for both growth promotion and disease prevention where no illness is present,” said Wellington, via STAT.