Cat carried woman's antibiotic-resistant infection

[AlaskaDenise]

BOSTON (Reuters - Pets can harbor virulent antibiotic-resistant infections and spread them to humans, German researchers reported on Wednesday.

The warning is based on the case of a woman who had deep abscesses caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA. Her husband and two children showed evidence of infection, too, but it disappeared with treatment even as the woman's abscesses festered.

So Dr. Andreas Sing of the Bavarian Food and Health Safety Authority and colleagues examined the woman's three apparently healthy cats. One turned out to have the same strain.

Only after the cat was treated with antibiotics did the woman's abscesses clear up.

Researchers already know that people can pick up such infections from dogs.

"It remains unclear whether the cat was the source of the patient's infection or vice versa," the researchers note -- but said the strain was rare in humans.

"This case illustrates that MRSA transmission also occurs between humans and cats," they added in a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine.
"We conclude that pets should be considered as possible household reservoirs of MRSA that can cause infection or reinfection in humans."

(Reporting by Gene Emery; Editing by Maggie Fox and Todd Eastham)

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN1222309920080312

 

[tropical]

Re: Cat carried woman's antibiotic-resistant infection

Reporting by Gene Emery;...:
"We conclude that pets should be considered as possible household reservoirs of MRSA that can cause infection or reinfection in humans."

Looking at the massive presence of MRSA in supposedly much more sterilized, human dedicated environments, like are the modern world hospitals, what we aspect, to have not it elsewhere also?

In these hospitals, nor the reservoirs, nor the superspreaders, are the cats.

 

[scottmcpherson]

Re: Cat carried woman's antibiotic-resistant infection

In light of this paper, the use of domestic animals (usually dogs) in hospitals in an effort to salve injured psyches, give relief and temporary joy to patients may need to be reconsidered. Such animals may need to be given clean bills of health.

I recall when my wife was in hospital awhile back, and a dog came in to see her. The dog was welcomed, but then we noticed how much hair it was shedding. There is a big difference between shedding hair and MRSA, of course, but the principle is the same.

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: Cat carried woman's antibiotic-resistant infection

Cats can also be found in assisted living businesses (along with the residents who have MRSA). I'd hate to see the pets eliminated since they bring so much comfort to the residents. It's preferable to find ways to test and appropriately clean the pets.

.

 

[tropical]

Re: Cat carried woman's antibiotic-resistant infection

Hi scottmcpherson (I'm glad to see your posts here also), and A.D.,

without negating the fact that the pets also can care diseases, my post here wants to insert a doubt that we must be aware mainly from the pet source of MRSA.

Now, every hospital (with no allowed pet entries) have resistant infections, how is that? Humans are the vectors, and seems not reasonable that they cary it and spread it into hospitals because they care for the pets.
Obviously the outdoor pet's skin have many things on, but why that pathogen, why it is now important, and it wasn't few decades ago?

I think that the main reason for hospital microbial (and MRSA) resistance is from other provenience than pet animals.

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: Cat carried woman's antibiotic-resistant infection

....reason for hospital microbial (and MRSA) resistance is from other provenience than pet animals.

MRSA may be joining the growing list of "crowd diseases" (a Jared Diamond term).

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