Expand / Collapse search
Watch TV
Menu

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

Outbreaks

Pet store puppies linked to outbreak that's sickened at least 30 people, CDC says

By Nicole Darrah Fox News
Published
close
Fox News Flash top headlines for Dec. 18 Video

Fox News Flash top headlines for Dec. 18

Fox News Flash top headlines for Dec. 18 are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com

Pet store puppies might be making people sick, according to federal health officials, who say at least 30 people have been infected with a multidrug-resistant bacteria.

More than two dozen people have been sickened in 13 states across the U.S. by a strain of Campylobacter jejuni, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced in a news release Tuesday. Of those infected, at least four people required hospitalization.

PUPPY LICK LIKELY CAUSED WOMAN'S DANGEROUS SKIN INFECTION

Evidence links the infection to puppies — "especially those at pet stores" — as the most likely source of the outbreak.

Pet store puppies have been linked to a bacterial infection outbreak that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says has sickened at least 30 people across 12 states in the U.S.

Pet store puppies have been linked to a bacterial infection outbreak that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says has sickened at least 30 people across 12 states in the U.S. (iStock)

Infections have been reported in Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, South Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, Tennessee, Utah and Wyoming. At least six people have reported an illness in Minnesota.

BACTERIAL DISEASE SICKENING DOGS IN COLORADO CAN SPREAD TO HUMANS, VET SAYS

The CDC said laboratory evidence indicates that bacteria from this outbreak is "closely related genetically to bacteria" linked to the 2016-2018 outbreak of multi-drug resistant Campylobacter infections, also linked to pet store dogs.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Health officials say that both puppies and dogs, "even while appearing healthy and clean," can carry the Campylobacter bacteria, and those who come in contact with such animals should remember to wash their hands thoroughly after touching or handling them, their waste or their food in any way.

Most people infected with the bacteria suffer from diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps for up to five days after exposure, and will typically recover without treatment.