Prevalence of Enteropathogens in Dogs Attending 3 Regional Dog Parks in Northern California

Hascall, K.L.; Kass, P.H.; Saksen, J.; Ahlmann, A.; Scorza, A.V.; Lappin, M.R.; Marks, S.L.

The prevalence of Salmonella reported in this study (1%) was within the previously reported range of 0-2.3% 20,24 and did not correlate with fecal consistency. In addition, none of the dogs infected with Salmonella spp. ingested raw meat diets. The prevalence of C. jejuni and C. coli in this study (8/300, 2.7%) was slightly higher than previously reported by culture methods. 25 A previous study documented a prevalence for Campylobacter spp. of 43% via fecal culture in 251 dogs attending dog parks in southwestern Ontario. 26 The investigators included detection of C. upsaliensis in that study, a nonpathogenic species found in 37% of the dogs. 26 Importantly, no association was found between the presence of any bacterial enteropathogen and fecal score with the exception of C. perfringens, although potentially zoonotic bacterial enteropathogens detected included Campylobacter jejuni and Salmonella. Campylobacter upsaliensis and C. helveticus have been frequently isolated from healthy and diarrheic dogs and cats; 27,28 however, these relatively nonpathogenic species were not tested for.