Transmission of MRSA between Companion Animals and Infected Human Patients Presenting to Outpatient Medical Care Facilities
نویسندگان
چکیده
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a significant pathogen in both human and veterinary medicine. The importance of companion animals as reservoirs of human infections is currently unknown. The companion animals of 49 MRSA-infected outpatients (cases) were screened for MRSA carriage, and their bacterial isolates were compared with those of the infected patients using Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE). Rates of MRSA among the companion animals of MRSA-infected patients were compared to rates of MRSA among companion animals of pet guardians attending a "veterinary wellness clinic" (controls). MRSA was isolated from at least one companion animal in 4/49 (8.2%) households of MRSA-infected outpatients vs. none of the pets of the 50 uninfected human controls. Using PFGE, patient-pets MRSA isolates were identical for three pairs and discordant for one pair (suggested MRSA inter-specie transmission p-value = 0.1175). These results suggest that companion animals of MRSA-infected patients can be culture-positive for MRSA, representing a potential source of infection or re-infection for humans. Further studies are required to better understand the epidemiology of MRSA human-animal inter-specie transmission.
منابع مشابه
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated from pets living in households with MRSA-infected children.
To the Editor—Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is among the most important causes of human healthcare-associated infections. Various studies have described suspected interspecies transmission of MRSA between human patients, their family members, and pets living in the same household [1–5]. Similarly, we described MRSA isolation from pets residing in a longterm care facility [6...
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