Pet stores linked to 18-state bacterial infection outbreak

There's an important update out Thursday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about a bacterial infection outbreak linked to man's best friend.

The CDC released a report saying that puppies sold at pet stores were the source of the outbreak of Campylobacter infections from 2017 to late February of this year.

The bacteria often causes diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain.

According to the CDC, 118 people in 18 states became ill during the outbreak. While no deaths occurred, 26 people were hospitalized.

Health officials say the strains that were seen during the outbreak were resistant to all antibiotics commonly used to treat the infections.

Since people can be infected through contact with an animal's feces, experts say the best way to protect yourself is to thoroughly wash your hands after cleaning up from pets.

No illnesses from Campylobacter were reported in Indiana or Michigan, but 32 were reported in Ohio and 11 were reported in Illinois.