Campylobacter outbreak linked with pet store dogs

A Campylobacter outbreak linked with puppies and pet stores sickened at least dozens of people and hospitalized four in 2019.

At least 15 of those sickened had contact with Petland stores and five were Petland store employees, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since January 2019, CDC officials learned of 30 illnesses from the outbreak strain that were serious enough to warrant medical care and reporting.

The outbreak is the second connected with Petland stores since 2016. The C jejuni strains from both outbreaks appear to be closely related, according to CDC information published Dec. 17. The prior outbreak involved 113 reported illnesses with 23 people hospitalized, from January 2016 through January 2018.

Officials with the CDC and state public health agencies continued investigating the latest outbreak into December 2019. Investigation into the previous outbreak ended without identification of a common breeder or location where the puppies became infected.