Drug-resistant staph Found Pets

Some veterinarians are documenting more and more cases of drug-resistant staph infections in dogs and cats, but say there is no cause for alarm among pet owners if they follow simple hygiene measures.

Dr. Lewis Gelfand, a long beach, NY, veterinarian, said the treatment of an increasing number of animals listed by rash with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA. The cases appear to be increased, he said, in recent months.

E 'In any case, a rapidly growing problem, "Gelfand, adding that he has had 19 cases in dogs last year." I think it is a problem clearly underdiagnosed. We dermatological cases as well as open wounds. "It was a case in a cat yet, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time."

Treatment can be very difficult, in some cases, the animals are in hospital, sometimes for weeks, and intravenous antibiotics, which cause side infusedEffects.

Dr. Patrick McDonough, assistant professor in the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory College of Cornell University, said pets contract MRSA from their owners. "This is what we call zoonoses contrary, is the body of humans, animals," said McDonough. "If the animals that colonize, we do not know how long they hold it, but this is a case where you can share what we have."

MRSA, because it is so widespread, "said McDonough was cultivated in a variety ofThe animals, including pigs and horses.

"Staphylococcus understand very well, the interception of genetic material from other organisms and the use of this" as a survival mechanism, said McDonough. "But just because he resides in the nose of a dog or cat does not mean that the organism causing the infection."

If the owner of the bacteria to transfer a pet through close contact, the microbes may colonize the nose of the animals, opening the way for MRSA to be transmitted back to the people.

Dr. Bruce Hirsch, anInfectious diseases specialist at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York, is a clear difference between an animal that is colonized and one that was infected. An animal colonized a vector can remain in good health - and this applies to humans, he said.

"There was a large outbreak in 2003," he added, referring to the medical literature. "A 31-year-old nurse was a carrier and has undergone a series of treatments, which was found to relieve the state of transport. The same tribetheir families and their 1-year-old daughter and dog.

"After the animal with antibiotics that we receive, the bacteria were eliminated. This is a classic case: The dog is not infected, but it was colonized by MRSA."

Now that MRSA is no longer a body, only in hospitals, experts say it is likely that it will be seen more frequently in domestic animals.

Dr. Josh Tumulty, chairman of internal medicine at the Long Veterinary IcelandSpecialists in Plainview, NY, and Dr. John Charros, a veterinarian in Valley Stream, NY said that the cases observed in animals

'It's always more widespread, "said Tumulty. "It is not just a problem of conscience." Pets are colonized are increasingly used as companions in nursing homes and hospices where the animals with MRSA, "said Tumulty. Charros mostly found in some types of MRSA infections." We see in my ears and in some cases, the dermatological cases, "he said."We call them super-infections and bacteria resistant to conventional antibiotics."