Perceptions, practices, and consequences associated with foodborne pathogens and the feeding of raw meat to dogs.
This study explored the impact of feeding raw meat to dogs on the fecal prevalence of several enteric bacterial zoonotic pathogens. Campylobacter jejuni was isolated from 1/42 (2.6%) raw meat-fed dogs. Salmonella enterica was isolated from 2/40 (5%) of the raw meat feeds, 6/42 (14%) raw meat-fed dog feces, none of the dogs that did not receive raw meat (P = 0.001), 4/38 (10.5%) of the vacuum cleaner waste samples from households where raw meat was fed, and 2/44 (4.5%) of vacuum cleaner waste samples from households where raw meat was not fed to dogs (P = 0.41). Responses to a questionnaire probing practices and beliefs regarding raw meat feeding that was administered to dog owners demonstrated that dog owners may either not be aware or refuse to acknowledge the risks associated with raw meat-feeding; thus, they may neglect to conduct adequate intervention strategies to prevent zoonoses among themselves and their families.
Lenz
Jennifer
J
Food Animal Health Research Program, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Ohio State University, 1680 Madison Ave Wooster, Ohio 44691, USA.
Joffe
Daniel
D
Kauffman
Michael
M
Zhang
Yifan
Y
LeJeune
Jeffery
J
D000821:Animal Feed / Q000382:microbiology*; D000818:Animals; D016123:Campylobacter jejuni / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D004285:Dogs; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D019453:Escherichia coli O157 / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D019779:Salmonella enterica / Q000302:isolation & purification