Veterinary Public Health Program
313 N Figueroa St. Rm 1127
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Tel (213) 288-7060
Fax (213) 481-2375 vet@ph.lacounty.gov
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Salmon Poisoning Disease
What is Salmon
Poisoning Disease (SPD)?
SPD is a disease that makes dogs severely ill. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, bloody
diarrhea, lethargy, enlarged lymph nodes,
physical collapse and death. Dogs with SPD need to be
treated by a veterinarian. Illness usually
starts about 5-7 days after the dog eats or
licks an
infected fish.
Despite its name,
SPD is not caused by a poison. It is caused by
a combination of a bacteria (Neorickettsia)and a parasite
(Nanophyetus). Dogs can catch the illness very easily when they
eat raw or undercooked salmon or trout. The
infection is present in all parts of the
infected fish, including the slime layer on the
surface; one dog in LA County caught the disease
after licking the ground where water had dripped
off of an infected trout. This
disease is most common in the Pacific Northwest
area of the United States.
Have there been any
cases of SPD in dogs in Los Angeles County? Since 2006, 16 dogs in Los Angeles
County became severely ill from SPD. Most became
infected after eating or
licking parts of raw trout. The trout had been
transported to LA County from the Pacific
Northwest for sport fishing. In 2017, one dog
became infected after eating raw salmon from a
local grocery store. Two of 16 cases reported in
LA County died. The others received intensive
treatment and survived.
Do people get SPD? Humans can get infected with the parasite (Nanophyetus)
only if they eat raw fish, or if they do not
practice good sanitation in preparing fish. When
humans are infected, they experience mostly mild
diarrhea. Safe and sanitary fish handling
prevents this problem.
What should I do?
NEVER ALLOW DOGS TO EAT ANY RAW FISH OR
FISH PRODUCTS.
REMEMBER – Dogs can smell fish that have
been buried to use as fertilizer! Keep dogs
away from buried fish!
Fisherman should always use excellent
sanitation when cleaning and preparing fish.
If your dog has eaten raw fish caught
from a local lake and becomes ill, mention
the fish to your veterinarian.