More California dog owners advised to be aware of salmon poisoning disease

Will Conybeare
·2 min read
1

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is reminding all Golden State residents to take precautions to protect their dogs from a potentially fatal disease caused by raw fish.

According to CDFW officials, salmon poisoning disease can be fatal in dogs after they eat certain types of raw or cold-smoked fish like trout or salmon.

All fish caught or originating from streams in California could potentially be affected, CDFW warns.

Earlier this month, the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control issued an animal health advisory after four dogs tested positive for the potentially deadly bacterial disease.

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The disease is caused by Neorickettsia helminthoeca, a “bacteria-like organism” transmitted by parasitic flatworms (Nanophyetes salmincola), more commonly known as flukes.

Flukes occur naturally in waters in Northern California, wildlife department officials said, and while most of NorCal is considered the native range for the fluke, dogs across the state are susceptible to the disease.

“Dog owners are advised to be cautious and to keep their dogs away from salmon, steelhead, trout and other freshwater fish carcasses,” CDFW said in a release, which noted that the parasite cannot survive if the fish is cooked.

Salmon poisoning disease is not harmful to humans and does not affect pets other than dogs, officials added.

The CDFW says symptoms are “similar to distemper” and can include:

  • A rise in body temperature

  • Loss of appetite

  • Vomiting

  • Diarrhea

  • Listlessness

  • Rapid weight loss

Dog owners who recognize symptoms of salmon poisoning disease are urged to take their pets to a veterinarian immediately, as it is treatable if caught in time.

“If untreated, death usually occurs within two weeks of eating the infected fish,” the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said. “Without treatment, 90 percent of dogs showing symptoms die.”

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CDFW officials are cautioning residents in the North Central Region — which encompasses parts of 17 different counties — that trout stocked in local waters are more likely to be infected with the flukes.

For more information on CDFW’s weekly fish planting schedule, click here.

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