Chicago ? Fido’s food may be making kids sick, a government report warns, detailing the first known salmonella outbreak in humans, mostly young children, linked to pet food.

The outbreak sickened 79 people in 21 mostly eastern states, between 2006 and 2008. Almost half of the victims were children aged 2 and younger.

Dry pet foods are an under-recognized source of salmonella infections in humans, and it’s likely other illnesses since then were unknowingly caused by tainted pet food, said Casey Barton Behravesh, the report’s lead author and a researcher at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The outbreak was blamed on salmonella bacteria found in several brands of dry dog and cat food produced at a Mars Petcare US plant in Everson, Pa., including Pedigree and Special Kitty.