Apple Valley-based Animal Welfare Hospital has sounded the alarm about a potentially deadly fish-borne disease affecting dogs in Southern California and the high desert.
Animal Care Hospital officials, including doctors Ron Boyd and Tess Clark, contacted the Daily Press on Monday about dogs that had fallen ill due to “salmon poisoning disease.”
“This is called salmon poisoning but it can be carried by other fish,” said Susie Bailey, animal care practice manager and registered veterinary technician. “A dog becomes infected by eating raw fish, or even just licking the fish or the water it is processed in.”
Last month, Bailey said her staff treated a sick dog and diagnosed the animal with salmon poisoning from raw fish, trout in this case, from Lake Hesperia. The bacteria were transmitted by flatworms in fish.
Animal hospital staff later learned that Los Angeles County was seeing an uptick in the disease, with two cases also discovered in San Bernardino County.
Most cases of salmon poisoning reported in Los Angeles County have been associated with raw trout caught while sport fishing in various lakes across Southern California.
“This is not something we typically see in Southern California, but Dr. Boyd suspects that many Southern California lakes are stocked with fish coming from the north,” Bailey said.
The Victorville-based Animal Emergency Clinic has two suspected cases of the disease, with at least one dog having died, she said.
“The Animal Emergency Clinic is transferring another case to us today…a patient who ate raw fish from Lake Hesperia two weeks ago. Although these are only a small number of cases, it is a preventable and preventable disease,” Bailey said. “It is fatal if not caught and treated.”
Bailey and her staff reached out to Hesperia Lake staff, local shelters and the Los Angeles County Public Health veterinarian.
The disease occurs mainly in domestic dogs, wolves, coyotes and foxes, although it has also been reported in black bears. Cats do not appear to develop salmon poisoning, according to VCA Hospitals.
California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials sounded the alarm in 2022Saying that all fish caught or coming from streams in Northern California are likely infected with the disease. They added that trout stocked in some waters in the north are more vulnerable to infection.
the main points
Animal welfare officials also share some key points about the disease and recommendations for keeping dogs safe.
- Salmon botulism is an infectious disease of dogs caused by the bacterium Neuricktsia helminthica, found in a trematode parasite called Nanophytus salminicola.
- Affected dogs can become seriously ill with lethargy, fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and swollen lymph nodes. Affected dogs often need to be hospitalized.
- Dogs in Southern California typically become infected after exposure to raw trout, specifically trout caught for sport fishing in local lakes, or water used to rinse raw trout.
- Farmed trout in the Pacific Northwest are used to stock local lakes for sport fishing.
Recommendations
- Never feed raw fish caught during sport fishing to your dog.
- Do not allow dogs to drink water used to clean raw fish.
- If a dog ingests raw fish, especially salmon or trout caught during sport fishing, the dog should be monitored for clinical signs of salmon poisoning for 10 to 14 days.
- Trout and any other fish caught during sport fishing must be cooked before being consumed. Always wash your hands well after handling raw fish.
Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz
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