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Puppies receiving an astonishing amount of antibiotics have caused bacterial infections at the root of diarrhea, which are largely drug-resistant, reported this week by federal and state health officials.
The results, published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's September 21 report on morbidity and mortality, suggest that the dog industry is in serious need of training and obedience classes. The widespread administration of multiple antibiotic classes to puppies, including all classes commonly used to treat diarrheal infections in humans, is an alarming conclusion, suggested officials. They called for fairly simple solutions, including better hygiene and husbandry practices, as well as a veterinary control of the use of antibiotics.
"The implementation of antibiotic management principles and practices in the commercial dog industry is needed," they concluded bluntly.
Critics are limiting a multi-state survey on an ongoing epidemic of Campylobacter infections in humans. It is estimated that this intestinal bacterial infection causes more than a million diarrheal diseases in the United States each year, but it's usually not related to puppies or dogs. Instead, it is usually linked to undercooked meat, unpasteurized milk or contaminated water.
But the latest data found a new trend. Between January 2016 and February 2018, health officials monitored 118 specific cases in 18 states. (These cases led to 26 hospitalizations and no deaths.) It turned out that of the 118 cases, 29 were pet shop employees. Officials collected additional survey data to learn about exposures, obtaining good data from 106 of the 118 cases. Of these 106 people, 105 reported exposure to dogs, and 101 cases reported specific exposure to puppies in pet stores. The other person on whom the officials had data stated that they did not remember any dogs.
By digging deeper, officials from four of the affected states (Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin) visited 20 pet stores. They sniffed drug registers for 149 puppies, finding that many had received antibiotics without getting sick – a big no for antibiotic management and prevention of drug resistance.
- Puppy show.
- Antibiotics used on puppies.
Records indicated that of the 149 puppies, pet stores had given at least 142 antibiotics (95%). More than half (78 puppies, or 55%) had received these antibiotics only for prophylaxis – that is, they were not sick and had not received these drugs only as a precaution. In addition, almost 40% (54 puppies) received antibiotics for prophylaxis and treatments against real infections. Only two puppies took drugs simply because they were sick. (The other eight pups out of the 142 who received antibiotics had no record of why they had taken these medications.)
Pet stores had given puppies a wide range of antibiotics, noting 16 different drugs, among which those from the same classes of antibiotics used to treat Campylobacter infections in humans.
Meanwhile, health authorities in six of the states affected by the outbreak (Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin) collected 51 stool samples from sick men and 23 puppy samples. Whole genome sequencing analyzed Campylobacter isolates in 45 human samples for 11 puppy samples.
The researchers took 18 of these Campylobacter isolates (10 in humans and 8 in puppies) and tested them for antibiotic resistance. All were resistant to at least seven antibiotics (azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, clindamycin, erythromycin, nalidixic acid, telithromycin and tetracycline).
Officials then tried to trace the origin of these infectious puppies, but could not find a single breeder or distributor as a common source. Instead, puppies seemed to exchange infectious germs throughout the breeding, distribution and transportation processes of the commercial dog industry.
In the end, officials conclude that the dog industry and pet stores must relentlessly work to deal with the threat to public health. This includes the responsible use of antibiotics, the education of pet shop employees and customers on the best hygiene practices and the housing of puppies during the reproduction, transport and distribution of to reduce the risk of transmission.
"Although the investigation is over," write the officials, "the risk of multidrug-resistant Campylobacter transmission to employees and consumers continues".
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