MRSA in Pets and Therapy Dogs
This week I listened to a webinar by Dr. David Aucoin entitled "Emerging Antimicrobial Resistance MRSA to MRSP: A Growing National Problem", sponsored by Bayer HealthCare Animal Health. Methicillin Resistant Staph aureus is usually a reverse zoonosis. That means pets get infected by people. If infected, most pets will clear themselves of MRSA within two weeks if not reinfected by a human. The bigger problem in veterinary medicine is Methicilin Resistant Staph psuedintermedius (MRSP). At a commercial veterinary lab sighted by Dr. Aucoin, 1 out of 7 dog skin cultures grew MRSP while only 1 out of 50 grew MRSA.
Since treatment is difficult with either of these staphs, prevention is the key. If you know you carry MRSA, wash your hands well before touching any animals. Wear gloves if treating open wounds and skin problems on your pet. These bacteria may live on inanimate objects referred to as fomites. Disinfect equipment and surfaces often.
Since MRSA is common in human hospitals, therapy animals have a greater chance of contracting this bacteria. To minimize the risk, keep pets off of beds and chairs. Have patients wash their hands before touching a therapy animal. Watch the pet closely for health problems after visits. If skin problems develop, contact your veterinarian so they may culture the infection before treatment.
Since treatment is difficult with either of these staphs, prevention is the key. If you know you carry MRSA, wash your hands well before touching any animals. Wear gloves if treating open wounds and skin problems on your pet. These bacteria may live on inanimate objects referred to as fomites. Disinfect equipment and surfaces often.
Since MRSA is common in human hospitals, therapy animals have a greater chance of contracting this bacteria. To minimize the risk, keep pets off of beds and chairs. Have patients wash their hands before touching a therapy animal. Watch the pet closely for health problems after visits. If skin problems develop, contact your veterinarian so they may culture the infection before treatment.
This was very informative about MRSP. I have a therapy dog that was recently diagnosed with MRSP, and I'm pretty sure he was infected while visiting a rehab center which he did visit on a weekly basis. I wish someone would have warned me of the dangers before I agreed to the program.
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I am sorry to hear about your dog. How is he doing now?
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He just finished 3 weeks of Chloremphenacol & Baytril and the MRSP & pseudomonas have returned within 2 days of going off the meds. He'll be on a couple more weeks of meds, then if this doesn't work he'll have to go on Zyvox because it's so resistant. The meds have caused him to drop quite a bit of weight, and I've had to try several anti-nausia meds to get him to eat.
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I am so sorry the infection came back. Besides the antibiotics, you may want to speak with your veterinarian about supplements to strengthen his immune system. Hopefully, that will help him kick this infection once and for all. Please keep me posted on your dog's progress.
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I just had him into a licensed homeopathic vet to work on boosting his immune system, we were already on the same page. My boy has 1 more week of meds, he has a few puscules but they are drying up very nicely. I am concerned that the minute he goes off the meds we will see them all return. If that does happen, we will be putting on Zyvox.
I would like to know your theory on how he contracted this.. My boy is not just a pet, though we love him dearly.. He is a show dog, he does conformation, obedience, rally, therapy dog, and we're suppose to be working on those plus drafting, but he's not well as your aware. I've read everything I can find on MRSP, and most point to humans as the biggest contributor to dogs being infected. What is your spin on weather he could have been infected by another dog or humans? The one thing that really makes me thinks he was infected by humans is that we were doing therapy dog every week. I've been unemployed for year, leaving me with excess time on my hands, so most any week we were not showing, we were at a rehab center volunteering.
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With MRSA, I always think of humans as the source before animals. During the webinar, Dr. Aucoin recommended testing the people who live with a dog that has MRSA. Some people are actually asymptomatic carriers of MRSA. If the cultures are negative, then I would be suspicious of the rehab center or any other medical facility he visited during his work as a therapy dog.
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I just saw this information and it's pretty interesting to know humans are capable of infecting animals in many ways. Is this the explanation on h1n1 case of transmission for human to animals that has been reported before?
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Yes, there are documented cases where humans infected cats, ferrets, pigs and a dog. People with viral infections should avoid close contact with their pets while sick. Wash your hands before handling them and do not let them sleep close to you in bed.
Also, I learned an interesting fact about H1N1. According to the Centers for Disease Control, this virus contains genetic material from four different viral sources, North American swine and avian influenza viruses as well as Asian and European swine and avian influenza viruses. Perhaps that is why it is so contagious.
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