3 Transplant Recipients Die From Virus Related To Rodents

[SnuggleHam]

3 Transplant Recipients Die From Virus Related To Rodents

Pet Store Testing Hamsters, Guinea Pigs, Mice For Signs Of Virus



POSTED: 6:04 pm EDT May 23, 2005

UPDATED: 1:33 pm EDT May 24, 2005



PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A pet store chain linked to a rodent virus that killed three human transplant patients said Tuesday it is testing its breeding stocks of hamsters, guinea pigs and mice for signs of the virus.



Three patients died from the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus after receiving organs from a single donor, health officials said Monday. They believe the donor may have contracted the virus from a hamster purchased at a Petsmart store in Warwick.



A spokesman for Phoenix-based Petsmart said the company is having its hamsters, guinea pigs and mice tested.



"We're taking samples of the breeding stock and also some of the juvenile pets from our vendors for testing," spokesman Bruce Richardson said.



He said the chain regularly tests for other diseases but not LCMV because it is rare. Richardson also noted it is not clear whether the hamster, which has died, was infected with LCMV when it arrived at the organ donor's household.



"To our knowledge, we didn't sell any sick hamsters," he said. There also are no indications of an LCMV outbreak among the chain's suppliers, he said.



Health officials removed dozens of hamsters, mice and rats from the Warwick store.



LCMV is commonly found in house mice but usually produces only flulike symptoms in humans. It has also been associated with neurological illness and miscarriage in pregnant women.



In this case, however, the victims were transplant recipients who were taking very large doses of immune system-suppressing medication, which can allow viruses to multiply and cause an "overwhelming infection," state health director David Gifford said.



A few weeks after the transplants in mid-April, three patients died: a liver recipient and a double-lung recipient, both from Massachusetts, and a kidney transplant recipient from Rhode Island. Another Rhode Island patient who received a kidney became ill, but is recovering.



Public health officials who announced the deaths Monday said it was only the second documented case of LCMV being spread through an organ transplant and stressed its rarity in humans.



"We would encourage people who are on the (transplant) waiting list not to be concerned with this," Gifford said. "This is an extremely rare and unusual event."



Gifford did not identify the patients.



The double lung transplant was performed at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston, the liver transplant at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and both kidney transplants at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, officials said.



Gifford said there are no plans to test other donor organs for the virus since it is so rare and testing could take several days, potentially making the organs unusable. He said he believed there was no commercially available test for the virus.



Two patients outside the United States received corneas from the Rhode Island donor, and officials of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they are investigating where those corneas went.



Only one previous instance of LCMV causing a transplant-related death has been reported -- in Wisconsin in December 2003 -- but it wasn't definitively linked to rodent exposure, said Dr. Matthew Kuehnert of the CDC.



CDC investigators were testing the dead hamster to confirm the virus as the cause of the recent deaths. "We believe the hamster was the source, but we can't rule out a common house mouse," said CDC spokesman Dave Daigle.







My husband and I happened to be in Warwick last weekend, I stopped at petsmart to get a few things. I went over to see the rodents and found all the rodents to be missing. I figured they were sold out untill I noticed a printed out sign of regular computer paper that said the animals had been taken into the back due to illness. Or something along those lines. Didnt say much more then that.



I bought my male gerbil orlando from there some months back, But he seems alright..

[afishcalledwanda]

Candace, I have been on a campaign all month with regards to issues like this. Petsmart, Petco and Petland all buy their small animals from giant mills. It is the same as the salmonella story.



If you go to PWS and have a browse through these links,



Click here



and this one from the salmonella nonsense,



Click here



I have contacted the ASPCA and got a blow off letter saying they had no time for hamsters because they were concentrating on puppy mills. Well, in both instances, the problem can be traced back to the breeder. The salmonella breeders are all on the east coast. The one from RI is from Phoeniz Az.

This is now a public health issue and it has nothing to do with general diseases and inflictions caused by small rodents as pets. If you want to see what the ASPCA and I went back and forth with, ask, and I will email it to you.



I need national help with this. This is in the works to go public. The large chain stores are horrid with the abuse and enabling of the giant mills and they need to be stopped. I am in a sit and wait situation right now. I am also in touch with a vet associated with the CDC and am waiting to hear from him as well.



Anyone here willing to DO something aside from kvetching on a forum, feel free to contact me.

[email protected]

I also use windows messenger. If you want to use messenger, email me with your info and I'll send you mine.



I was involved in the removal of dogs and cats in pet shops and the public awareness of the puppy mills. I participated in the public awarness program we 'dog people' did. We held fun shows in the malls, protested in front of stores and made life miserable in general for anyone who bought animals from mills.



I hate to bring you terrible news, but the 14 day return policy at these stores is crap. Do you really think they tend to hamsters with wet tail 24/7? No, they take them in the 'back' and - you don't want to know the rest.



Every animal taken from that store has been euthanized and taken to the CDC and RI dept of health for testing.



This all starts at the breeders. Read those links. I need people who want to help who aren't afraid to get 'dirty'.



Rodents are clean animals. They don't spread disease and infection, it's the environment they live in that causes these kinds of problems. Fleas, ticks, creepy crawlies like that which live on the pet, cause the problems.



Anyone here have a big mouth and allot of guts? Contact me. Email is above.

[SnuggleHam]

Joan, I didn’t assume that all the rodents were disease infested. It was just on the news and I thought to post it. I’m sure not all animals were affected. I didn’t really have any knowledge as to were they came from, I did however ask where they got a shipment of dwarfs from last summer when I stopped there and saw them unloading the animals from a small wire crate. All of them seemed healthy and happy and the worker said they got them from Ohio.



I would love to support you but I really don’t know what I could do to help. I’m not that knowable about rodent mills and where the stores get their animals from, and unless I have hard core facts I’m not going to be able to really stand up for myself and the rodents when I’m not very informed... know what I mean?



What’s the difference between and industry that breed animals for pet stores and mills? When I think of mills I think of dirty cages and inbred animals ect. But the places they get them from must have some kind of health code and all that? I mean this is a large chain pet store we are talking about.



I know the 14 day back guarantee is crap. Iv asked the workers at this very Petsmart in Warwick what they do with hamsters that have wet tail. They have a veterinary office right in the building; apparently the animals are treated by that vet. Another person I saw on the LJ forum says he works at a pet smart and that hamsters with wetail usually pull through is given dritail in early stages.. I don’t know how true that is because I know wet tail usually shows once its to late to do anything.



See its hard to know what the facts are.. Ill take a look at the links though tomorrow when I have more time.





Is there anything Hamster Central can do? maybe support and article or something about it?

[afishcalledwanda]

I need help from anyone who is willing. Ignorant or not. Help is not needed just yet but those who want to help, will be contacted with updates and this is worked out.

If you dont want to help, that's fine. Petsmart has no vet offices in any stores nation wide. Why would they tell anyone this I don't know other than to simply shut them up.



Read those articles. You'll get more information than you wanted. Then we'll talk again if you're interested.

[peanut25]

I will help if I am able. One of the people that are going to be adopting one of my babies actually brought the articles up to me and I had to let her that my babies are newborns and not part of a mill where I believe this is happening at as well. I have contacted the aspca as well and got blown off because they are working on the puppy mills. How sad, I thought all animals were equal. I guess that is wrong.

[Emma]

I'm not sure that LCMV is quite as relavent to the hamster-mill problem as the salmonella outbreaks are? LCMV is widespread in wild rodents and generally asymptomatic in rodents, it's something all lab colonies etc. are aware of and workers take appropriate hygiene precautions. It's not necessarily associated with poor hygiene/husbandry and is certainly not associated with prophylactic use of antibiotics, as it is a virus.



I completely understand the need for action on the hamster-mill problem as highlighted by the recent salmonella scares, but I think LCMV is somewhat of a separate issue, and implicating it in an effort to combat hamster-mills may lead to those who can make a difference taking the campaign less seriously?



Anyway, some info on LCMV from the VIN (as I posted on PWS, in case anyone wants more information). Haha that's too many anacronyms!



Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis

Etiology:

LCM Virus



Epidemiology:

Etiological Agent:

LCM Virus (RNA Virus: Arenavirus: Arenaviridae) is a rodent borne virus which may be passed to man in a number of different ways.



Once infected, humans may develop a moderate to severe disease of the central nervous system which may produces a variety of CNS signs. Women infected during pregnancy may pass the virus to the fetus via the placenta.



Reservoir Host:

House mouse (Mus musculus) and hamsters.



Portals of Escape:

Nasal secretions, urine, semen, milk and feces.



Transmission/Dissemination:

Mouse bites, handling dead mice, ingestion of food contaminated by mouse feces and urine, aerosols in laboratories, arthropods may play a limited role in dissemination, congenital transmission between mice and congenital transmission between humans. In recent years hamsters, which are kept as household pets, have become increasingly important in LCM transmission.



Portals of Entry:

Permucosal respiratory.



Permucosal alimentary.



Percutaneous (mouse or hamster bite).



Percutaneous (wound contamination) from handling dead mice or hamsters.



Transplacental.



Susceptible Hosts:

Mouse, hamster, guinea pig, and man.



Incubation Period:

1-2 weeks.



Seasonal Distribution:

Transmission occurs equally in all seasons.



Geographical Distribution:

Generally considered to be worldwide however there have been no isolates from Africa or Australia.



Mortality:

Low.



Zoonotic Classification:

Direct anthropozoonoses.



Treatment/Management/Prevention:



Human:

None.



Animal:

None.



Prevention/Control:

House mouse control. Do not handle mice with bare hands.



Maintain serological surveillance of rodent colonies.



Pregnant women should avoid handling hamsters, mice and other rodents.



It is possible to test for LCMV (at least in the US it seems) to see if your animal carries it, for example if you are pregnant and concerned about it. If you've handled many hamsters/mice for a long time, it's likely you'll already have been exposed to it and have developed an immunity - this can also be tested for, going by postings on a vet message board.



LCMV in humans generally causes a mild cold/flu like disease, in some cases it may go on to cause CNS disease. It is only really a concern for immunocompromised individuals (such as these transplant recipients) and pregnant women.



If you want any more info on LCMV Joan just ask, it's been quite widley researched I think. I do think it might just be complicating matters for you though - going by the reports and searches I've done it hasn't even been confirmed yet if the donor was carrying LCMV from her hamster or not - she could have been infected from wild rodents. Has LCMV been demonstrated in the pet shop stock?

[SnuggleHam]

Originally Posted by Afishcalledwanda

Petsmart has no vet offices in any stores nation wide. Why would they tell anyone this I don't know other than to simply shut them up.



Read those articles. You'll get more information than you wanted. Then we'll talk again if you're interested.

This one DOES have a vets office right in the store I know this because Iv seen it. It’s a veterinary office right in the store where people can bring their animals to be seen by the vet. I also know its there because when we adopted our cat Woody from there we were also given a free first complimentary check up with the veterinary office in their store for him. The employees told me sick animals at the store are treated by their vet.



There was another time at this very petsmart in warick that I saw a cocokatiel there that was way to young and had been taken on bird formula and places with older teils before it was ready and as a concequince looked weeks and was covered in feces becuase the stronger teils wouldnt alow it in the perches, so I told an employee and they rushed ir over the the veterinary office.



Another time I bought a hamster from that petsmart with wet tail when I dicovered it was ill I called the places and they told me to bring it in ASAP, I had the option to either get my money back, or I could surrending the animal and once they had treated it and it was in good health again I could come and pick it up. Of course I wouldnt be able to had it been past the 14 day back gaurentee :P

[Coco1]

Petsmart has no vet offices in any stores nation wide. Why would they tell anyone this I don't know other than to simply shut them up.





Candace is right, we have one down here in Texas also and its a large one. It is a full vets office inside the store. I used to take my cat there all the time for yearly shots and when she became sick she had lots of tests there and xrays etc. Its a full veterinary clinic with at least two vets and lots of assistants.

Another one by us has a much smaller one and i'm not sure if it does all the big stuff but has a vet there.



????????

[afishcalledwanda]

Look, if you all feel that PetSmart is all that, then fine, go ahead and feel that way, it's your right. Just please, don't try to convince me.



PetSmart and PetCo are the major buyers of all small animals from mills. I guess reading the links didn't sway anyone's knowledge, or maybe they weren't read.



I am trying to put a stop to all the small pet mills. They are just as horrible as the puppy mills, even worse depending on your personal taste in animals.



I just got an email from a friend who works in a Petco and she had to clean out dead dwarf hamsters because they drowned in the water. They weren't dead 10 minutes prior when she cleaned out their cage. The store she works in refuses to use water bottles. She has had many, many animals arrive in unsatisfactory conditions and many dead and alive in the same crate upon arrival. Many times with barely a chunk of POTATO of all things, for food and water.



The salmonella scare can be traced to several large breeders and the hamsters all came from PETSMARTS.



I bought a hamster from PetSmart, he was dead inside of a week and at a cost of $130 to me. I wasn't about to have his last days on earth at their hands, I don't trust them.



The transplant problem can be traced to another PetSmart, they get their hamsters from a breeder in ARIZONA. the animals that were confiscated all tested had traces of the infection that killed. I understand Emma's explaination of what happened and how the disease is carried but I have had pet raccoons before and they carry rabies. That is the only comparison I know right off the top of my head. Even though the animal carries the disease, these kinds of carriers are only at risk of passing or coming down with it if they are stressed. Then their systems cannot hold it back. This is the simplest way I can explain it.



Don't you think the trip from Arizona to Connecticut would be a bit stressful?



Anyway, I've said my piece, and I will never ask for help from this forum on this topic again. Aparently convienience is more important than the big picture.

[SnuggleHam]

Joan there is no need to get all upset at us. You seem to know what you’re talking about yet you had clearly stated quite boldly "Petsmart has no vet offices in any stores nation wide. Why would they tell anyone this I don't know other than to simply shut them up." and it just happened that you were wrong and a few of us had seen Petsmart franchises that in fact did have veterinary offices. I understand that this all broke loose from a Petsmart, further more the one I regularly visit, and although it has happened there, their cages are always kept nice and clean, the animals there are fed lab blocks and do have water bottles.



I used to not be a huge fan of Petco but its recently been renovated and all their animals are fed lab blocks and they use water bottles, there are wheels and sleeping huts in their tanks. So from looking at their enclosures I know that they care for their pets while in the store. Where they get them from I really have no clue.



Its hard to know what to think, after all you claimed there were no veterinary offices in any petsmarts nation wide and you said in another post "The one from RI is from Phoeniz Az" but I was told by an employee at the same store they came from Ohio, but maybe that was just in refer cane to their dwarf hamsters.



I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, its realistically thinking to assume rodents must come from a place where they are obviously bred for profit. But then I have never seen any of these mills; I have no clue what goes on in there. You say they are kept in bad conditions and this and that which is probably true, But id have to see it for myself. How can I help fight against something where everyone says something different? How do you know who’s right? What is it that you would have me try and do if I volenteer my help? Write letters to these franchises telling them how I dislike the fact they get their pets from "mills" ?



Ill I know is that when I see the animals in Petsmart they are kept in clean cages, they are always separated into different sex cages and I have never seen mixed species in the same enclosures. And I know their veterinarian at this particular place treat their animals when found ill.



I’m not trying to convince you of anything, well expect of course that they DO have veterinary offices in some and treat their animals. To me that says something good for the store does it not? I guess Im thinking in way its unfair to bash the pet stores, But its hard to really justify, on one hand from what I have seen they take care of their animals in the store, veterinary treatment, good cage enrichment ect, but on the other hand they buy from these “mill”?



"Anyway, I've said my piece, and I will never ask for help from this forum on this topic again. Aparently convienience is more important than the big picture."



There is really no need to act bitter towards anyone here Joan. Nobody is condemning you for wanting to stop these mills and for not liking Petsmart and Petco, I think some of us just aren’t sure what to really think. I mean where is the proof they come from these places in AZ? Do you perhaps have any more links about the mills in particular, any pictures of the mills, anything like that?





None of us refused to help you, we probably are either still thinking about it, or just have been busy doing other things.Or perhaps we arnt sure what we can do to help you out when we dont know that much about it. I would love to help you out, but at this point I I feel like someone standing on the side lines just watching people toss this information around, I think if I had more articles to read and pictures to see and somehow found proof of where they in fact do get their animals id feel more in the “know”



I would hate to think just because of the “lighter” reaction here on HC so far you will now refuse to continue posting more information and educating us on the matter. I hope you can understand where I’m coming from with all this.



If there is anything I can do at this point please make some suggestions as to how I can help?