Pet Care Tips

What's this MRSA I keep hearing about?

Methicillin-Resistant Staph aureus (MRSA) has been getting a lot of attention in the media these days, but what is it and how does it affect our pets? MRSA is a bacteria, a form of Staphylococcus aureus, that causes difficult-to-treat infections in humans and is resistant to multiple antibiotics. Infections in companion animals is increasing, which raises concerns regarding zoonotic transmission (animal to people an vice versa). MRSA affects our pets in two ways — true infections and carrier states.

An infection occurs when the bacteria enters a site in the body and multiplies, leading to tissue destruction and disease. This can appear as severe skin infections, draining wounds, or post-operative joint infections and sepsis. A carrier state occurs when an animal has MRSA in or on a body site but has no clinical signs of infection or disease. Animals that are carriers require no treatment and will clear the organism in three to four weeks if not reexposed.

The MRSA isolated from dogs and cats is the same as that found in humans and is thought to come from, in most cases, contact with an infected person. Therefore, your pet can get the bacteria from you and then pass it back to you, thus creating a vicious cycle within a household. If someone in your household develops an infection with MRSA your doctor may recommend “screening” your pets. This can be done very easily by taking cultures from specific sites on his/her body. These samples are then sent to a lab for testing. What do you do if these tests are “positive”? Typical therapies used in humans are not effective in dogs and cats and are difficult to administer. Good hygiene (washing hands) and infection control practices are most effective in decreasing transmission from pet-to-pet and pet-to-person. Please contact us if you have any questions or would like more information.

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