Update;  **Local Lake Cuyamaca was recently stocked with fish from northern Kern County, Bishop and Mammoth Lakes area.

Fishing can be a relaxing, fun time for the family, but sharing the catch with your dog can be fatal. 

Salmon Poisoning Disease is a potentially fatal condition seen in dogs that eat certain types of raw fish. Certain fish can be infected with a parasite called Nanophyetus salmincola.  If the parasite is infected with a rickettsial organism called Neorickettsia helminthoeca,  this is the microorganism that causes salmon poisoning. 

Cats, raccoons and bears eat raw fish regularly with out consequence, but dogs are susceptible to salmon poisoning.

Generally clinical signs appear within six days of a dog eating an infected fish. 

Common symptoms of salmon poisoning include:

• vomiting,  lack of appetite,  fever,  diarrhea
• weakness,  swollen lymph nodes ,  dehydration

If untreated, death usually occurs within fourteen days of eating the infected fish. Ninety percent of dogs showing symptoms die if they are not treated.

Thankfully, salmon poisoning is treatable if it is caught early. A key to its diagnosis is telling your veterinarian that your dog ate (or could have possibly eaten) raw fish. If your dog wanders, gets into the trash, or could have possibly been exposed to fish, and you are unsure of what he/she may have eaten, consider the possibility of salmon poisoning. 

Salmon poisoning can be diagnosed with a fecal sample or a needle sample of a swollen lymph node. Detecting the parasite’s eggs as they are shed in the feces can confirm Salmon Poisoning.   Lymph node cytology and histopathology may provide a more definitive diagnosis, if necessary.

Salmon Poisoning

Authored by: Becky Lundgren, DVM

Salmon poisoning is also known as salmon disease, salmon poisoning disease (SPD), and neorickettsia poisoning. It is an acute and often fatal infectious disease of dogs, coyotes, and foxes of the Pacific Northwest.

Despite its name, salmon poisoning does not involve a toxin. Salmon poisoning is an infection that develops when dogs eat raw fish (salmon, trout, or steelhead) or Pacific Giant Salamanders that contain a fluke. A fluke, also known as a trematode, is an internal parasite. In this case the fluke is Nanophyetus salmincola that contains a rickettsial organism called Neorickettsia helminthoeca.

Once the larval flukes reach the dog's intestinal tract, they embed in the dog's duodenal mucosa, and release the rickettsiae. The rickettsial organisms then spread through the bloodstream to the liver, lungs, brain, and lymphoid tissue. Clinical signs include but are not limited to: fever; nausea; vomiting; bloody diarrhea; weight loss; ascites; nasal and eye discharge; enlarged lymph nodes; twitching; and seizures. Approximately 60 percent of cases present with generalized lymph node enlargement. Unless treated, 50 – 90% of affected animals will die of infection within 7 to 10 days.

Clinical signs usually begin about one week after the animal eats the infected raw fish, although delays of 33 days have been reported.

Geographic Distribution

Although infected fish can be found in the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco to the coast of Alaska, salmon poisoning is most commonly found in Washington, Oregon, northern California, and southern Vancouver Island (Canada). It is also seen inland along the rivers of fish migration. The Pacific Northwest has the trematode's first intermediate host, a small snail called Oxytrema plicifer.

Diagnosis

Although clinical signs are caused by the rickettsial organisms and not the fluke, presumptive diagnosis is usually made by identifying the fluke’s ova (eggs) in the feces. Ova are identified in 92% of cases. Direct smears of fecal material usually provide sufficient specimen for diagnosis, although other methods can be used.

Treatment

To combat the hemorrhage, necrosis, and infection, affected animal usually need antibiotics, fluid therapy, blood transfusions, antiemetics, antidiarrheals, and anticestodals (drugs that kill flukes).

Preventive Measures

Dogs should not be allowed to eat raw or smoked-raw fish (salmon, trout, steelhead), or Pacific Giant Salamanders.

Dogs that survive salmon poisoning will be immune to re-infection with the same strain. However, infection with an alternate strain can occur because there is no cross-protection.