National Infection Service, Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, LondonNW9 5HT, UK.
Food Water and Environmental Microbiology Services, Public Health England, YorkYO41 ILZ, UK.
Epidemiol Infect. 2021 May 6;149:e124. doi: 10.1017/S0950268821001072.
In August 2017, a cluster of four persons infected with genetically related strains of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7 was identified. These strains possessed the Shiga toxin (stx) subtype stx2a, a toxin type known to be associated with severe clinical outcome. One person died after developing haemolytic uraemic syndrome. Interviews with cases revealed that three of the cases had been exposed to dogs fed on a raw meat-based diet (RMBD), specifically tripe. In two cases, the tripe had been purchased from the same supplier. Sampling and microbiological screening of raw pet food was undertaken and indicated the presence of STEC in the products. STEC was isolated from one sample of raw tripe but was different from the strain causing illness in humans. Nevertheless, the detection of STEC in the tripe provided evidence that raw pet food was a potential source of human STEC infection during this outbreak. This adds to the evidence of raw pet food as a risk factor for zoonotic transmission of gastrointestinal pathogens, which is widely accepted for Salmonella, Listeria and Campylobacter spp. Feeding RMBD to companion animals has recently increased in popularity due to the belief that they provide health benefits to animals. Although still rare, an increase in STEC cases reporting exposure to RMBDs was detected in 2017. There has also been an increased frequency of raw pet food incidents in 2017, suggesting an increasing trend in potential risk to humans from raw pet food. Recommendations to reduce the risk of infection included improved awareness of risk and promotion of good hygiene practices among the public when handling raw pet food.
2017 年 8 月，发现了一组 4 人感染具有遗传相关性的产志贺毒素大肠杆菌（STEC）O157：H7 的病例。这些菌株携带志贺毒素（stx）亚型 stx2a，这种毒素类型与严重的临床后果有关。其中 1 人在发生溶血性尿毒综合征后死亡。对病例的访谈显示，有 3 例曾接触过以生肉为基础的饮食（RMBD）喂养的狗，特别是牛肚。在 2 例病例中，牛肚是从同一家供应商购买的。对生宠物食品进行了采样和微生物筛选，结果表明产品中存在 STEC。从一份生牛肚样本中分离出 STEC，但与引起人类疾病的菌株不同。然而，牛肚中 STEC 的检测结果表明，生宠物食品是此次暴发中人类 STEC 感染的潜在来源。这一发现增加了生宠物食品作为胃肠道病原体动物源性传播的危险因素的证据，这一点已被广泛接受，适用于沙门氏菌、李斯特菌和弯曲杆菌属等病原体。由于认为生肉饮食对动物有益健康，最近生肉饮食喂养伴侣动物的做法越来越流行。尽管仍然很少见，但 2017 年发现了 STEC 病例报告中接触 RMBD 的病例有所增加。2017 年也发生了更多的生宠物食品事件，这表明生宠物食品对人类潜在风险呈上升趋势。减少感染风险的建议包括提高公众在处理生宠物食品时对风险的认识，并促进良好的卫生习惯。
