Dog owners are being warned to be wary of bacteria that could become “antibiotic-resistant” after traces were found in some raw pet food.
This comes as a recent study conducted at the University of Bristol alerted pet owners after conducting tests for Escherichia Coli (E. coli) in 15 samples of raw dog food from ” specialist” pet stores.
The scientists also analyzed 58 samples of raw beef, pork, chicken and lamb for human consumption sold in UK supermarkets.
In total, 87% of raw chicken-based dog food samples and 81% of meat samples for human consumption were positive for E. coli.
The samples were tested for resistance to amoxicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, cefotaxime, ciprofloxacin, spectinomycin and streptomycin.
According to The Mirror, the findings presented at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) Global Congress in Barcelona, said: “This study confirms that raw meat carries multiple resistant to E. coli, usually including resistance to critically important antibiotics for human health.”
Speaking to Fox News Digital, study co-author Professor Matthew B Avison advised: “They [bacteria] can sit in your gut for years without causing illness, and in some cases the bacteria will eventually cause a variety of illnesses, including urinary tract infections and bloodstream infections that can kill.”
Professor Avison added: “Infections with resistant bacteria are more difficult to treat and therefore more likely to get worse.”
He also explained how the latest findings question the assumption that raw dog food is “safe” from contamination due to “frozen sales”.
“People often believe that because raw dog food is sold frozen, the freezing kills the bacteria, but we’ve shown that it doesn’t,” continued Professor Avison.
He added: “There were just as many samples of raw chicken-based dog food contaminated with resistant E. coli than samples of raw chicken meat.
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“If you feed your dog raw meat, therefore, you are probably feeding it antibiotic-resistant E. coli.”
Speaking about what owners should do if they feed their dogs raw meat, Professor Avison said: “Treat all raw meat as if it is contaminated with antibiotic-resistant bacteria and assume that dogs fed raw meat appear resistant to bacteria.
“Don’t let your dog lick your face or share your bed, and wash your hands after handling it.”
