Is anyone on the list a particular aficionado in Planet Of The Apes? Isn't this sort of how the whole thing started? Didn't the dogs and cats die off and then people took apes into their homes?
Daryle On Apr 10, 2007, at 3:40 AM, Tracey de Morsella (formerly Tracey L. Minor) wrote: > Tainted Food May Have Hurt 39,000 Pets > Monday, April 09, 2007 10:08:24 PM > > WASHINGTON(AP) > > > Pet food contaminated with an industrial chemical may have sickened or > killed 39,000 cats and dogs nationwide, based on an extrapolation from > data released Monday by one of the nation's largest chains of > veterinary > hospitals. > > Banfield, The Pet Hospital, said an analysis of its database, compiled > from records collected by its more than 615 veterinary hospitals, > suggests that three out of every 10,000 cats and dogs that ate the pet > food contaminated with melamine developed kidney failure. There are an > estimated 60 million dogs and 70 million cats in the United States, > according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. > > The hospital chain saw 1 million dogs and cats during the three months > when the more than 100 brands of now-recalled contaminated pet food > were > sold. It saw 284 extra cases of kidney failure among cats during that > period, or a roughly 30 percent increase, when compared with > background > rates. > > "It has meaning, when you see a peak like that. We see so many pets > here, and it coincided with the recall period," said veterinarian Hugh > Lewis, who oversees the mining of Banfield's database to do clinical > studies. The chain continues to share its data with the Food and Drug > Administration. > > FDA officials previously have said the database compiled by the huge > veterinary practice would probably provide the most authoritative > picture of the harm done by the tainted cat and dog food. > > >From its findings, Banfield officials calculated an incidence rate of > .03 percent for pets, although there was no discernible uptick among > dogs. That suggests the contamination was overwhelming toxic to cats, > Lewis said. That is in line with what other experts have said > previously. > > At least six pet food companies have recalled products made with > imported Chinese wheat gluten tainted with the chemical. The recall > involved about 1 percent of the overall U.S. pet food supply. > > Measuring the tainted food's impact on animal health has proved an > elusive goal. Previous estimates have ranged from the FDA's admittedly > low tally of roughly 16 confirmed deaths to the more than 3,000 > unconfirmed cases logged by one Web site. > > "On a percentage basis it's not breathtaking, but unfortunately it's a > number that, if it was your pet that was affected, it's too high," > veterinarian Nancy Zimmerman, Banfield's senior medical adviser, > said of > the newly estimated incidence rate. > > In another estimate Monday, the founder of a veterinary group said > 5,000 > to 10,000 pets may have fallen ill from eating the contaminated food, > and 1,000 to 2,000 may have died. > > The estimate was based on a Veterinary Information Network survey of > 1,400 veterinarians among its 30,000 members. About one-third reported > at least one case, said Paul Pion, the Network's founder. He cautioned > that a final, definitive tally isn't possible, and that even his > estimate could be halved _ or doubled. > > "Nobody is ever going to know the truth," Pion said. "It's always > going > to be a guess." > > Also Monday, the Web site petconnection.com said it had received > reports > of 3,598 pet deaths, split almost evenly between dogs and cats. The > site > cautioned that the numbers were unconfirmed. > > Banfield's veterinarians treat an estimated 6 percent of the nation's > cats and dogs. After the first recall was announced, the chain > beefed up > its software to allow those veterinarians to plug in extra > epidemiological information to help track cases, Zimmerman said. > > The new template allowed vets to log what a sick pet had eaten, any > symptoms its owner may have noticed, the results of a physical > examination, any urine and blood test results and other observations. > > Lewis said there is no reason to believe the company's findings _ > including an apparently heightened vulnerability of kittens to the > contaminant _ wouldn't hold for other veterinary practices as well. > > In outbreaks of foodborne disease in humans, the FDA leans on its > sister > agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to help track > and confirm cases. During the ongoing pet food scare, FDA officials > have > repeatedly reminded the nation that there is no CDC for dogs and cats. > > A spokesman for the American Veterinary Medical Association said the > lack of hard numbers has worried pet owners eager to understand the > extent of the problem. He suggested the recall could spur the creation > of an animal counterpart to the CDC. > > "This might be something that would push this in the future," AVMA > spokesman Michael San Filippo said. > > Another large veterinary chain, Los Angeles-based VCA Antech Inc., has > not tallied reports from its nearly 400 VCA animal hospitals around > the > country, a spokesman said. > > ___ > > On the Net: > > Banfield, The Pet Hospital: http://www.banfield.net/ > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
