Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2001 Nov;39(11):3962-8.
doi: 10.1128/JCM.39.11.3962-3968.2001.

Characterization of Salmonella associated with pig ear dog treats in Canada

C Clark  1 , J Cunningham, R Ahmed, D Woodward, K Fonseca, S Isaacs, A Ellis, C Anand, K Ziebell, A Muckle, P Sockett, F Rodgers
Affiliations

Characterization of Salmonella associated with pig ear dog treats in Canada

C Clark et al. J Clin Microbiol. 2001 Nov.

Abstract

In the summer of 1999, the incidence of Salmonella enterica serotype Infantis infections in Alberta rose dramatically. Subsequent laboratory and epidemiological investigations established that an outbreak of human disease caused by this organism was occurring across Canada and was associated with pet treats for dogs produced from processed pig ears. Laboratory investigations using phage typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) established that isolates of Salmonella serotype Infantis from pig ear pet treats and humans exposed to pig ear pet treats comprised a well-defined subset of all isolates analyzed. Of the 53 subtypes of Salmonella serotype Infantis obtained around the time of the outbreak as defined by PFGE and phage typing, only 6 subtypes were associated with both human infection and isolation from pig ears. Together with information from epidemiological studies, these investigations established pig ear pet treats as the cause of the Salmonella serotype Infantis outbreak. The results are consistent with a model in which contaminated pig ear pet treats constitute a long-term, continuing vehicle for infection of the human population rather than causing temporally delimited point-source outbreaks. During the course of this outbreak, several other Salmonella serotypes were also isolated from pet treats, suggesting these products may be an important source of enteric infection in both humans and dogs. Though isolates of Salmonella serotypes other than Salmonella serotype Infantis from pet treats were also subjected to PFGE and phage typing, no link with human disease could be definitively established, and the contribution of pig ear pet treats to human disease remains unclear. Elimination of bacterial contamination from pet treats is required to reduce the risk of infection from these products.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIG. 1
FIG. 1
PFGE profiles of Salmonella serotype Infantis strains restriction enzyme digested with XbaI showing representative PFGE patterns. Lanes 1, 5, 10, and 15 contained the Salmonella serotype Newport standard strain AM01144.
FIG. 2
FIG. 2
Dendrogram of Salmonella serotype Infantis PFGE types.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Anderson E S, Williams R E O. Bacteriophage typing of enteric pathogens and Staphylococci and its use in epidemiology. J Clin Pathol. 1956;9:94–127. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Barrell R A E. Isolation of Salmonella from human foods in the Manchester area. Epidemiol Infect. 1987;98:277–284. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Buzby J C, Roberts T. Economic costs and trade impacts of microbial foodborne illness. World Health Stat Q. 1997;50:57–66. - PubMed
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Standardized molecular subtyping of foodborne bacterial pathogens by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Atlanta, Ga: The National Molecular Subtyping Network for Foodborne Disease Surveillance. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 1998.
    1. Cuff W, Khakhria R, Woodward D L, Ahmed R, Clark C G, Rodgers F G. Enteric pathogens identified in Canada: annual summary 1997. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: Laboratory Centre for Disease Control; 2000.