Transmission of Bacterial Zoonotic Pathogens between Pets and Humans: The Role of Pet Food

Lambertini, Elisabetta; Buchanan, Robert L.; Narrod, Clare A.; Pradhan, Abani K.

doi:10.1080/10408398.2014.902356

Cited by 36 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 459 publications

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“…Unfortunately, the safety of pet food, including pet snacks, has been poorly investigated. There is little quantitative information available on the risk of infectious disease transmission among pets, humans, and the domestic environment that they share (Lambertini et al, 2016). More specifically, no information is available on the role of pet food as a vehicle for direct and indirect exposure to pets and humans, particularly children and infants, who can get in contact with pet food or snacks with their hands or by direct ingestion, especially when the snacks have an attractive shape similar to that of toys.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

When Pet Snacks Look Like Children's Toys! The Potential Role of Pet Snacks in Transmission of Bacterial Zoonotic Pathogens in the Household

Castrica

Menchetti

Panseri

et al. 2021

Foodborne Pathogens and Disease

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Recent foodborne pathogen outbreaks associated with dry pet food and treats have focused the attention on these products as vehicles of pathogens for both pets and their owners. This study investigates the purchasing habits of dog owners and determines if and in what form pet snacks can be potentially dangerous for humans, especially for children. For these purposes, questionnaires collected from 406 dog owners were evaluated and microbiological analyses were performed on 120 dry pet snacks. The shape of the pet snack affects the purchase (median score, Mdn = 6.4) and the star bone was the preferred one (Mdn = 7.1). Most of the participants (76.0%; p < 0.001) stated that snacks are attractive to their children and that the possibility for children to get in contact with pet snacks is rare, but not implausible (Mdn = 3.1). Indeed, more than 6% of respondents admitted that there had been incidents of involuntary ingestion of pet snacks, with fever and gastrointestinal manifestations. Microbiological analyses showed that 119 dry pet snacks analyzed of a total of 120 (99.2%) were in good sanitary condition except for one sample where the presence of Listeria ivanovii was confirmed. The upward trend in the presence of pets in households and the strong and continuous growth in value and volume of the pet food market led researchers to analyze possible public health issues. Children and infants in particular are the most exposed subjects as they are more likely to come into contact with pet snacks, attracted by a shape similar to that of a toy. For this reason, although our findings did not highlight important microbiological contamination of pet snacks, it would be useful to standardize food safety criteria with those for human food from a One Health perspective.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

When Pet Snacks Look Like Children's Toys! The Potential Role of Pet Snacks in Transmission of Bacterial Zoonotic Pathogens in the Household

Castrica

Menchetti

Panseri

et al. 2021

Foodborne Pathogens and Disease

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“…Zoonotic diseases are contagious or non-contagious infections with emerging and/or re-emerging characteristics and naturally transmissible from vertebrate animals to humans and vice-versa via contact, food, water, and by vectors in the human and animal ecosystems; their increasing risks affect global health security (1)(2)(3). These infections are caused by all types of pathogens, including bacteria, fungi, parasites, viruses, and unconventional agents such as prions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Overview of Zoonotic Diseases in Turkey: The One Health Concept and Future Threats

İncı¹,

Doğanay²,

Özdarendeli³

et al. 2018

TurkiyeParazitolDerg

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Zoonotic infections are globally important diseases and lead to huge economic losses in both low-and middle-income and high-income countries. Global warming, environmental and ecological changes, illegal movement of animals and humans, regional civil wars, and poverty are predisposing factors for the emergence of zoonotic infections and their distribution worldwide; they are also a big threat for the future. In addition, environmental pollution and antimicrobial resistance are immense serious threats and dangers to prevent and control zoonotic infections. The natural location of Turkey allows many emerged or re-emerged infections with zoonotic characteristics by animal movements, such as bird immigrations, and by human movements due to civil wars as seen with regional refugees. Numerous zoonotic diseases, including 37 bacterial, 13 fungal, 29 viral, 28 parasitic (3 trematodes, 7 cestodes, 10 nematodes, and 8 protozoan), and totally 107 infections, have been reported from Turkey to date. Additionally, many ectoparasitic zoonoses within 15 different arthropod groups and one leech infestation have been reported from Turkey to date. The "One Health" initiative is particularly relevant for developing strategies to combat zoonotic diseases. In this article, we review the occurrence of zoonotic diseases in man and animals in Turkey in the light of the "One Health" perspective.

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“…Investigation of multistate outbreak of human infections linked to dry pet food 2012). These outbreaks, ongoing recalls of pet foods and treats, and surveys of pet foods and animal feeds have increased consumer concerns about the safety of these products (Finley et al 2006;Adley et al 2011;Buchanan et al 2011;Li et al 2012;Lambertini et al 2016a). This, in turn, has led to a need to better understand the microbiological characteristics of dry pet food and treats.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the potential for Salmonella growth in rehydrated dry dog food

2016

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Background: A substantial percentage of dog owners add water to dry dog food to increase its palatability. The recent association of Salmonella contamination of dry pet foods with salmonellosis cases in both dogs and their owners has generated a need to determine the ability of Salmonella to grow in eight commercial brands of rehydrated dry dog food. Results: Eight brands of commercial dry dog food were rehydrated to 20, 35 and 50% added moisture, inoculated with two S. enterica strains (~10 5 CFU/g) and incubated for 72 h at 18°C, 22°C, or 28°C. Dog food brand, moisture content, and temperature affected pathogen growth/survival patterns. Rehydration to 20% moisture did not support growth of S. enterica, and in general there was a 0.5-2.0 Log decline. At 35% moisture and 28°C, 4 of 8 brands supported up to 3.4 Log(CFU/g) of growth, while Salmonella levels declined in three brands, and remained unchanged in one. Rehydration to 50% moisture at 28°C supported increases of up to 4.6 Log(CFU/g) in 5 of 8 brands. Growth kinetics determinations with two of the brands that supported growth had calculated lag times, generation times, and maximum population densities of 4.4 and 2.2 h, 1.4 and 10.8 h, and 7.3 and 6.9 Log(CFU/g) when rehydrated to 35% moisture and held at 30°C. Conclusions: Results of this study establish that the rehydration of dry dog food with sufficient amounts of water may support the growth of S. enterica. Based on the most rapid observed lag times, growth of Salmonella, if present, in rehydrated dog food could be avoided by discarding or refrigerating uneaten portions within 2-3 h of rehydration. These data allow accidental or intentional rehydration of dry dog food to be factored into predictive microbiology models and exposure assessments.

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Transmission of Bacterial Zoonotic Pathogens between Pets and Humans: The Role of Pet Food

Cited by 36 publications

References 459 publications

When Pet Snacks Look Like Children's Toys! The Potential Role of Pet Snacks in Transmission of Bacterial Zoonotic Pathogens in the Household

When Pet Snacks Look Like Children's Toys! The Potential Role of Pet Snacks in Transmission of Bacterial Zoonotic Pathogens in the Household

Overview of Zoonotic Diseases in Turkey: The One Health Concept and Future Threats

Assessing the potential for Salmonella growth in rehydrated dry dog food

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