Contaminated Pet Food

Study says contaminated pet foods can sicken people too.
USA Today (8/9, Szabo), citing a study in Pediatrics, reports that "contaminated pet foods can sicken people, not just animals." Children "don't have to put pet foods in their mouths to become ill," explained study author Casey Barton Behravesh, a veterinarian at the CDC. Instead, "people were at risk for salmonella simply because they fed their pets in the kitchen," Behravesh said. "People who became ill may have spread the bacteria around the kitchen because they failed to wash their hands after pouring dog chow into a bowl or handing the cat a treat." The FDA "has announced more than a dozen recalls of pet foods and treats since 2006 because of salmonella contamination," according to the study.
The AP (8/9, Tanner) reports that the pet food-related outbreak has "sickened 79 people in 21 mostly eastern states, between 2006 and 2008. Almost half of the victims were children aged two and younger." The outbreak "was blamed on salmonella bacteria found in several brands of dry dog and cat food produced at a Mars Petcare US plant in Everson, Pa., including Pedigree and Special Kitty." Symptoms "included bloody diarrhea and fever. At least 11 people were hospitalized; none died."