Petting puppies at the pet store could make you sick as a dog, according to a new warning from health officials.
Thirty people across 13 states have been infected with a strain of Campylobacter jejuni, a drug-resistant infection that appears to be linked to contact with pet store puppies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday.
Four people have been hospitalized as a result of the infection but no deaths have been reported, according to the CDC.
“Epidemiologic and laboratory evidence indicate that contact with puppies, especially those at pet stores, is the likely source of this outbreak,” it said.
Among 24 people interviewed by the CDC, all reported coming into contact with a puppy — and 15 said the puppy was from a pet store. Of the 15, a dozen said they got sick after visiting the national Petland chain.
Cases of the infection have been reported in Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wyoming, according to the CDC.
The majority of the cases were in Minnesota, with six reported infections.
Illnesses date back to Jan. 6 and broke out as recently as Nov. 10. Those infected range in age from 8 months to 70 years, with a median age of 34, and 52 percent of the illnesses were in females.
Symptoms include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps two to five days after being exposed to the bacteria.
The illness usually lasts about a week and people typically recover without antibiotics.
The CDC recommends washing your hands after touching dogs, cleaning up after them or handling their food — as well as taking new pups to the vet for a check-up.