[ SHOWGSD-L ] Interesting conversation with my vet
- From: BAERENTATZE312@xxxxxxx
- To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 21 Apr 2007 11:39:07 EDT
I had an interesting conversation with my vet this morning during my visit
for the annual rabies/checkup for my dogs. I asked him for his thoughts on
this food issue and he said that it has been blown out of proportion via the
media. He mentioned that the majority of the animals who have died were cats
and
to his knowledge it was less then 2-dozen animals nationwide that had died.
I'm not minimizing any pet's death, but he did say that a lot of those cases
were cats and an older feline would succumb whereas a younger cat would not.
He's had a case of just that where a family had an older cat and younger cat
who were on the same food and the older cat died but the younger one is fine.
He also indicated that he sees an average of 3 cases per week of cats with
renal failure, mainly due to old age and not the food they are fed. He feels
the statistics that the media is putting out there is misleading. He also
said that last year over 200 dogs died (the article states as of Jan 9, 2006,
76
dogs had died however the eventual total was over 200) on the east coast due
to a fungal infection because of mold on the grains used in the dog food.
See below for the article dated January 19, 2006. Did we have the national
media uproar that we are having now with this food issue? No and I believe his
advice is sound, if your dogs are doing ok on the food you have been feeding
them then you shouldn't worry and switch foods. You probably would cause more
upset with your dog's digestive system by switching from one to another than if
you would have left things as is. I do have a personal opinion on this
media frenzy and it's just my thought on this issue, but causing major problems
for pet owners is not out of the realm of the Animal Right Activists. Quite
frankly I wouldn't put it anything past what's on their agendas. Food for
thought, no pun intended. As I said just my opinionâ?¦
Regards,
Pat
-------
Published: Thursday, January 19, 2006
Dog deaths from tainted pet food
By Mary Lowry and Douglas R. Yearout
Recently in the news there have been reports from the eastern U.S. regarding
mold contamination in the Diamond Pet Food company's dog and cat food.
Nineteen different varieties of food are involved, with three different brand
names: Diamond, Professional, and Country Value. The foods were contaminated
before Dec. 10, 2005 with mold and mold toxins originating from corn.
According to the recall data, a "G" is present in the 11th or 12th digit in the
product batch serial code number. The G is for Gaston, the South Carolina town
where
Diamond Pet Food has a manufacturing facility. The food was distributed in
many East Coast states, but not in our area.
It's a sad story. As of Jan. 9 there had been reports of 76 dogs having died
from aflatoxicosis.
Aflatoxins are toxic chemicals that naturally form when certain fungi/molds
grow on grains such as corn, seeds and peanuts. The fungi come from the genus
Aspergillus, and the species in this food poisoning incident comes from the
flavus group.
Grains can get moldy while still in the field, depending on the growing
conditions. They can also become moldy during harvest, or more commonly get
mold-growth during storage. Fungi of the genus Aspergillus are normal
inhabitants of
the soil. Fungi can be very useful; the antibiotic penicillin is made from a
fungus growing in the soil.
But, the fungi that create aflatoxins are not useful at all, and are very
dangerous when they have grown in food. When the mold matures and begins to
flourish, it produces a toxic chemical byproduct. These chemicals are among the
most poisonous compounds known to man.
Grain products destined for food obviously must not be contaminated with any
of this fungus, or the mold aflatoxins. It takes only a very small microtrace
amount of the toxin to sicken animals and humans. Food grains are commonly
batch-tested to prevent any contaminated products from getting into edible
foods.
The FDA has set a limit that less than 20 parts per billion of the toxin be
allowed in any foodstuff.
Unfortunately, there have still been many occurrences of aflatoxins not being
detected, and sometimes they are not tested for at all -- though this is
rare.
Here's a passage from a recent edition of "Current Veterinary Therapy," a
handbook used by veterinarians: "Dry dog foods produced for local and in-state
sales might not be closely monitored for aflatoxins. This is of special concern
in the Southeast, where corn containing toxic levels of aflatoxin rejected at
a grain elevator can be diverted at a low price to another use such as dog
food production."
We can't see, smell or taste these aflatoxins in the food, and there is no
moldy appearance to the product.
Aflatoxins cause severe damage to the body. The main organs affected are the
gastrointestinal system and the liver. Symptoms can include vomiting, profuse
bloody diarrhea, excessive thirst and urine production, rapid decline,
lethargy, lack of appetite, and jaundice, which is a yellowing of the skin,
gums and
whites of the eyes. There may even be bruises on the gums and whites of the
eyes where little blood vessels leak, due to poor blood clotting. This jaundice
occurs from bile pigments that accumulate in the blood when the liver fails.
There is usually a normal body temperature and the white blood cell count is
normal, so infection is easier to rule out, and veterinarians then suspect that
some type of toxicity is involved.
Animals (and people) often die horrible toxic deaths from the liver failure
caused by these poison aflatoxins. There is no specific treatment that can
ensure survival when the body is poisoned by them. Veterinarians try very hard
to
support these beloved pets with fluids and medicines to counter the damage
that has been done, and then the body must do the repairing, which can take an
agonizingly long time. If the animals do survive they are often left with a
severely compromised liver that never functions effectively after the poisoning.
The best way to ensure that your companion animals don't meet the awful fate
of aflatoxin poisoning is to avoid feeding them inexpensive commercial pet
foods. Bargain brands tend to have a high corn content.
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