Fatal fish disease hits many area dogs

LORRINE THOMPSON, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published Friday, January 18, 2002

SOUTH SOUND -- Salmon disease is hitting dogs in South Sound in greater numbers this winter, local veterinarians warn, thanks to flooding of rivers and creeks and larger salmon runs.

Veterinarians recommend dog owners closely monitor where their dogs run, watch what they eat and look for any symptoms of the potentially fatal disease.

"It's incredible. We usually don't see it this bad," said Kim Martin, a veterinarian with the Steamboat Animal Hospital in west Thurston County.

Salmon disease is a parasite that attacks the gastrointestinal tracts of dogs after they eat raw salmon. The parasite digs into intestinal lining to infect the dogs, Martin said.

Early symptoms include low energy and loss of appetite.

That is followed by high fever -- "They'll feel hot to the touch," Martin said -- swollen lymph nodes and diarrhea. Dogs can die if the disease is not treated.

Michael Murphy, a veterinarian with the same hospital, estimates their practice has treated more than 30 dogs with salmon disease in recent months.

"Last year, we didn't see it very much," Murphy said.

Veterinarian Gary Olson in Shelton said he's "definitely" seeing greater numbers of salmon disease in dogs this year.

"It's a bumper crop of fish this year," said Olson, explaining that dogs are eating raw salmon that wash up onto riverbanks or get left behind by people fishing or cleaning fish.

The parasite is not dangerous to humans, cats or other animals.

"It seems like the only animals who suffer from it are dogs," said Susanne Beauregard, director of Animal Services.

Quick action is key

It's important for dog owners to get their pets to veterinarians soon after seeing early symptoms because early treatment is key, Martin said.

Caught early, the disease can be treated with antibiotics.

Later, dogs could need intravenous fluids and catheters to survive.

It's also important for pet owners to realize their dogs can find salmon in a number of places they're allowed to run free in South Sound.

"I see dogs in downtown Olympia that are finding it," Martin said. "At least 50 percent of my clients say, 'Oh, I don't think he could have gotten into salmon,' then boom, you find it in the stool."

Some dog owners who live near rivers and streams -- and realize it will be hard to keep their pets out of salmon -- purposely allow their dogs to eat some, Olson said.

Then the pet owners watch their dogs and treat them as soon as symptoms appear. The dogs then become immune to the disease.

"That way it's a controlled situation," he said.

Northwest illness

Salmon disease is restricted to the Pacific Northwest, so it's also important for dog owners new to the area or visiting the area to understand the disease, Beauregard said.

"Other dogs in other parts of the world don't have an opportunity to eat raw salmon. They just don't," she said.

Beauregard said she had never heard of the disease when she arrived in the Northwest from Texas years ago.

Her first experience with it involved a dog at the animal shelter who contracted it, then died before his new owners understood what the symptoms meant.

She worries that many dog owners are still unfamiliar with salmon disease.

"People come in and tell us their dog had salmonella," she said. Veterinarians say they hear the same from many pet owners.

Salmonella is a bacteria found in uncooked meat that can cause food poisoning, but it is not related to salmon.

The increased danger to dogs will last as long as salmon are running, but the danger for Northwest dogs will always exist to some degree, veterinarians say.

"I think we're at a loss, with this season, to know when it's going to end," Martin said.

Lorrine Thompson covers Thurston County and health for The Olympian. She can be reached at 360-754-5431.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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