Gross: Your Pet Could Give You A MRSA Infection
We know you love little Fluffy, but according to an article from ABCNews — he could give you methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. In case you are not aware — that's bad news.
ABC says:
Particularly worrisome is a growing body of evidence that cats and dogs can be colonized by MRSA — germs that are probably acquired from their owners, since cats and dogs usually carry a different strain of Staphylococcus bacteria.
But the cats and dogs can give the bug back. As long ago as 1988, researchers reported that a cat living in a United Kingdom geriatric unit had passed MRSA back to people. Screening of patients and staff showed that 38 percent of the nursing staff there had colonies of the bacteria living somewhere on them.
And that's not uncommon, according to Lawrence McGill, a veterinarian at the ARUP Animal Reference Pathology Laboratory in Salt Lake City, Utah.
"There is more and more data pointing to the [fact that the] most common source for animal infections with MRSA is from humans, including contact with medical facilities where humans are treated," McGill said.
And as if that isn't gross enough there are apparently 30 more pathogens that your pet can transfer to you, and 30-40% of bites on the hand become infected.
Of course, after all that, ABC says you shouldn't freak out because infections from pets are rare. Just keep Spike and Muffin clean and maintain their immunizations.
Family Pets May Harbor MRSA, Other Nasties [ABCNews]
(Photo:Mrs. Drosen)
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Comments:
Well, at least I'm informed. I was always under the impression that people couldn't get sick from pet germs.
Everything has been proven to kill or injure me in some way.
@Nick1693:
Ain't that the truth! Everything has some negative side effect to it, which seems to often be death.
... Does that explain that death-predicting cat?
This is why you tell your pets to ALWAYS finish their full course of antibiotic prescriptions.
@Nick1693: Congress needs to get on the ball here, we need more laws to protect ourselves. Making us wear a seatbelt was only the first step.
Under Obama's new universal health care plan, we are all required to eat an apple a day.
@NegativeNelli_GitEmSteveDave: and it developed into that because of folks who didn't finish their full courses of antibiotics in the first place.
@grapedog: Yes....Obama's universal healthcare plan is all an evil socialist plot to make you...LIVE HEALTHY! BWAHAHAHA!
Other people can give you an MRSA infection too! Omg!
@theblackdog: Well, I would argue natural evolution, but I agree not taking a full course can HELP create a resistant strain. That being said, there are many strains of bacteria which can resist antibiotics they were never exposed to previously.
As long as I can't get it from Cheesing, I will be ok. Take away my ability to Cheese and you might as well take away my reason for living.
In other news Jane was attacked in her house and is quoted form hospital as saying "This never happened until I shipped Fluffy, my faithful companion dog, off for fear of getting a MRSA from her."
@GreatWhiteNorth: I have always and will likely continue to always have dogs. The advantages far out weigh the disadvantages.
Sounds to me that our pets should be the ones concerned/grossed out.
That's misleading, you're saying the animal is the source, the part quoted says the source was the owner. The animal only gave it back.
@GreatWhiteNorth: And seeing as how anything and everything is now a pathogen/carcinogen, you might as well bite the bullet and suck it up.
@CFinWV: I think the point is that the animal can be a source for people not already carrying the bacteria. Fluffy gets MRSA from Jane, John pets her, surprise for John.
So since we're the ones infecting our pets, shouldn't our pets be the ones angrily shredding our shins with extreme relish?
Err, more extreme than the norm, that is.
don't get MRSA...my mom nearly died from it when she got infected after lung surgery.
fuck that hospital
This is exactly why I sterilize my pets in an autoclave prior to use.
Yet another reason why cats are the ultimate evil.
Having just watched "The Breed" on DVD this weekend, well, I just want to say no to government experiments with dogs. Things just didn't turn out too good for some of the humans in the movie.
/Sorry about the OT post.
but this has been known for YEARS.
the article mentions 1988, but the UK gov were advising pregnant women not to change cat litter boxes for a couple of years prior to that.
way to keep up on the science journals...
I know of a case where a lady got MRSA that nearly killed her after suffering a dog bite.
The problem? It wasn't from the dog bite. It was from the dirty folks in the hospital where they stitched up her dog bite.
HOSPITALS ARE KILLING US ALL, PEOPLE, WE MUST DESTROY THEM NOW!!!!
/parody of typical germophobic hysteria.
By the way, if people weren't so bloody freaked about being around bacteria, they would build up more natural resistance to this shit, and we would have less need for antibiotics and less chance of developing resistant strains.
*steps off soapbox*
@NegativeNelli_GitEmSteveDave: Bacteria usually don't directly evolve an antibiotic resistance before they are exposed to it. Otherwise, Bacteria in general would have evolved into juggernauts of resistances by now. They need something to start thinning their numbers (to free up resources) and then a successful gene mutation to occur or be 'unlocked' that increases their fitness in the environment.
I could also be interpreting your statement differently though. Certainly, some bacteria can have a natural resistance to some antibiotics based on how the antibiotic reacts with the bacterium such as bacteria in a biofilm can naturally be resistance to cell-wall deteriorating antibiotics. But then again, are bacterial biofilms the result of developing protection against said antibiotics in the first place?
@Tito151:
Our dog just finished his second round of antibiotics (yes he finished each round since I jammed those pills down his throat) for a staph infection (too much scratching).
Things have already been strained between me and my cat since the whole "bathtime / nail-clipping" incident.
My pet and I are no longer on speaking terms and we sleep in separate rooms. I can't understand a word she says.
News like this could really damage our relationship beyond repair.
@KhaiJB: pregnant women not changing litter boxes has nothing to do with MRSA though - it's due to the risk of toxoplasmosis which is a parasite.
@Trai_Dep:
I concur.
"Omg I am so grossed out that our pets are carrying the germs that we gave them, and they gave back to us!"
Several of our local elementary schools tested positive for this bug on many common surfaces - doorknobs, restroom counters, etc. It's basically everywhere. Do I keep my kid home in shock and fear? Nope. I just tell him to wash his hands often and don't make a habit of touching his face.
My vet has seen a few cases of this on local pets as well. He said as long as everyone in the household is careful about washing hands before meals, don't touch your eyes, nose or mouth unless your hands are clean, and be careful when cleaning up a pet's urine the chances of transmission are low in healthy people. Open cuts should be kept covered with a bandage. This will keep them safe while the pet is being treated with proper antibiotics (not just any antibiotics, they have to culture the germ, grow it, and test several to find out what will knock it out and then prescribe that particular one.)
If someone in the house has cancer or other disease that compromises the immune system, they should be extra careful - santize the house and perhaps keep the pet at the veterinarian during antibiotic treatment until it's no longer contagious.
@PinkBox: Sure, no argument. But in the home for the elderly, for instance, we're talking the animal as the vector, which clearly staff hadn't thought of.
The risk of dying due to not having a dog or cat is probably greater:
There is a huge link between stress relief and owning an animal. I think it goes without saying that having a good pet just wandering near you is some stress relief.
The dog or cat can protect you from bad people. A cat can even do this and probably has done so before.
@89macrunner: yeesh. it's definitely on my list of "things NOT to do":
1) chase off huge raccoon from garbage dumpster.
2) get MRSA
3) bank with Wells Fargo.
People bring MRSA into hospitals. Hospital personnel's skin are practically falling off from all the hand washing and hand sanitizing they are doing. Wash your hands and your kids hands if you want to prevent the spread of MRSA. Its everywhere...
@SadSam: pick up a pound of walmart brand 100% fat free turkey and cut the slab into 3x3 rectangles. Wrap pills or whatever in a pece of that, no need to force it down the critters throat. My dog was on antibiotics (Biaxin)and benadryl for over 3 weeks. Just switched to another antibiotic (Cipro) since 1st one wasnt doing the trick.
That's a picture of the rat/cat/dog! He comes by my work lots! I don't think I've seen him in some time. His owner is cool too!
I'm more excited about the animals than I am about the actual story.
Sounds like needless scaremongering to me. People with pets tend to have stronger immune systems, especially people who were raised with pets. I'll take my chances and keep my cats, thanks.
Yet another reason why animals should not live with people. In addition to it being disgusting.
And what do immunizations have to do with MRSA??
In other news, the Secret Service tackled Bo, the Obama's dog, and shipped him to GitMo on suspicions of bio-terrorism.