Drug-resistant staph found in pets


      The Associated Press
      Oct. 28, 2007 03:45 PM
      MELVILLE, N.Y. - Some veterinarians are documenting more and more
cases of
      drug-resistant staph infections in dogs and cats, but say there is no
reason
      for alarm among pet owners if they follow measures of simple hygiene.

      Dr. Lewis Gelfand, a Long Beach, N.Y., veterinarian, said he's
treating an
      increasing number of animals with skin eruptions infected with
      methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus - MRSA. The cases seem to
have
      increased, he said, in recent months.

      "It's definitely a rapidly expanding problem," Gelfand said, adding
that he
      has had 19 cases in dogs in the past year. "I believe it is a
significantly
      underdiagnosed problem. We have been seeing dermatological cases as
well as
      open sores.

      "I haven't had a case in a cat yet but I am sure it's just a matter of
      time."

      Treatment can prove so difficult in some instances that pets have to
be
      hospitalized, occasionally for weeks, and infused with intravenous
      antibiotics, which carry side effects.

      Dr. Patrick McDonough, an assistant professor in the diagnostics
laboratory
      at Cornell University's veterinary college, said pets contract MRSA
from their
      owners. "This is what we call reverse zoonosis, the organism is moving
from
      people to animals," McDonough said. "Once animals colonize it we don't
know
      how long they maintain it but this is one case where they are sharing
what we
      have."

      Because MRSA is so widespread, McDonough said it has been cultured in
a
      variety of animals, including pigs and horses.

      "Staph are very good at scavenging genetic material from other
organisms and
      using it" as a mechanism for survival, McDonough explained. "But just
      because it's residing in the nose of a dog or cat doesn't mean the
organism is
      causing infection."

      If an owner transmits the bacteria to a pet through close contact, the
      microbes may colonize in the animal's nose, paving the way for MRSA to
be passed again to people.

      Dr. Bruce Hirsch, a specialist in infectious diseases at North Shore
      University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y., noted a sharp difference
between an animal that is colonized and one that is infected. A colonized
animal may be a carrier yet
      remain in robust health - and the same goes for humans, he said.

      "There was a large outbreak in 2003," he added, citing the medical
      literature.  "A 31-year-old nurse was a carrier and underwent a number
of treatments to relieve the carriage state. The same strain was found in
her family members
      including her 1-year-old daughter and pet dog.

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

      Now that MRSA is no longer an organism found 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 Long Island
Veterinary
      Specialists in Plainview, N.Y., and Dr. John Charros, a veterinarian
in
      Valley Stream, N.Y., say they've seen cases in pets.

      "It's becoming more prevalent," Tumulty said. "And it's not only an
      awareness issue."

      Pets increasingly are being used as companions in nursing homes and
hospices where the animals can become colonized with MRSA, Tumulty said.

      Charros mostly has found MRSA in certain kinds of infections.

      "We see it in the ear cases and in some of the dermatological cases,"
he
      said.  "We call them superinfections, and the bacteria are resistant
to traditional
      antibiotics."