Two outbreaks of Salmonella in residents of the US and Canada have both been linked to pet food, Live Science reports.
The cases were recorded between January and August of this year, and one of them required hospitalization, but, fortunately, no one died.
Five patients were interviewed, and experts revealed that all of them came into contact with dogs, or dogs lived at their homes. The researchers analyzed DNA from the Salmonella bacteria that infected each of the patients, and found that the microbes were very closely related. The doctors believe that the patients got sick from the same product. Salmonella found in a specific batch of dog food also matched the outbreak strain.
The experts clarified that people probably got infected by touching this dog food, dog bowls that contained this dog food, or the poop or saliva of dogs that consumed this dog food. It should be noted that most pets do not get sick from Salmonella, but they can spread the dangerous bacteria.