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?
Between February 2006 to
January 2024, 24 cases of Salmon
Poisoning were reported to LA
County Veterinary Public Health.
Most of the cases were reported
in the years 2007 and 2024.
22 cases affected animals
living in Los Angeles County and
the remaining two affected
animals living in San Bernardino
County. Only the cases
involving LA County pets are
shown in the figures.
72% of the cases occurred in
the months of February, March
and April.
One case involved a cat and
all the others were dogs
Trout were implicated as the
contaminated fish in 16 of the
cases, salmon in 1 case, and 7
were
unsure of the source.
Fish that caused the
infection were reported to be
caught from 6 different bodies
of water throughout Southern
California: in Los Angeles
County, Orange County, and San
Bernardino County. Most of these
locations have trout stocked
from fish farms in the Pacific
Northwest or other fish farms
from out of the area. In one
case the fish was store-bought,
and the source of the fish in 6
of the cases remains unknown.
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, especially fish caught during
sport fishing. Do not alow dogs
to drink from water used to
rinse fish caught during sport
fishing.
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.
