[wiscnorthwind]

A number of years ago I bought a puppy from a large show kennel that had some undetermined GI issues. The pup was put on multiple doses of antibiotics by his breeder, and later by my vets, which eventually caused him to develop SIBO (small intestinal bacteria overgrowth) and “leaky gut syndrome”. I spent 5 years trying to resolve his GI issues…including researching probiotics that would help re-balance the flora in his gut. After finding negative reports about E. Faecium being opportunistic and potentially pathogenic due to its persistent colonization, as well as being prone to becoming antibiotic resistant I called one pet food company to discuss which strains of E. Faecium they used as a probiotic…I let them know that it was the specific strain I had found the bad reports on. However, I doubt that they made any changes to their product based on my phone call. Bottom line…it is my opinion that there are a lot of lactic acid producing strains of probiotics that are MUCH safer to use than ANY of the E. Faecium strains, so its my personal preference to protect my pets, myself and my grandchildren from exposure to it by avoiding any pet food that contains E. Faecium as a probiotic. As a side note, the reason the manufacturers like it, is because not only does it persist on almost any surface, it resists heat up to 160 degrees…which in my book makes it even more dangerous to my pets and myself.

I’ve changed computers a number of times since doing my initial research, so don’t have links to all of the articles handy, but doing a quick search, here are a few that you might find interesting…

A Microbial Biorealm page on the genus Enterococcus faecium
http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Enterococcus_faecium

Enterococcus spp
http://www.vetbook.org/wiki/dog/index.php/Enterococcus_spp

Transmission of opportunistic pathogens in a veterinary teaching hospital.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11506928

Dogs Are a Reservoir of Ampicillin-Resistant Enterococcus faecium Lineages Associated with Human Infections[down-pointing small open triangle]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2675212/

Characterization of Tn1546 in Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus faecium Isolated from Canine Urinary Tract Infections: Evidence of Gene Exchange between Human and Animal Enterococci
http://academic.research.microsoft.com/Paper/6754457

Monitoring of antimicrobial resistance in healthy dogs: first report of canine ampicillin-resistant Enterococcus faecium clonal complex 17.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18524501

Resident Cats in Small Animal Veterinary Hospitals Carry Multi-Drug Resistant Enterococci and are Likely Involved in Cross-Contamination of the Hospital Environment
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3282945/

Prevalence, species distribution and antimicrobial resistance of enterococci isolated from dogs and cats in the United States.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19486402

Epidemic and Nonepidemic Multidrug-Resistant Enterococcus faecium
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/9/9/02-0383_article.htm

Multiple-Drug Resistant Enterococci: The Nature of the Problem and an Agenda for the Future
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/4/2/98-0211_article.htm

Please note that many of these articles are not “new” findings, yet the use of E. Faecium as a probiotic on pet food persists. While it may not cause any issues in a healthy animal or person, I do believe it does present a risk that most people are unaware of, especially in those with compromised immune systems. I think its wise to make informed choices, so I hope that you find the above links helpful.