Superbug 'Carried By Pets' (UK)

Health officials say the hospital superbug MRSA is now being carried by pets in Britain.

The deadly bacteria has been discovered in a dozen animals from across the country, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) has confirmed.

The development could make it harder to limit the spread of MRSA, which kills around 5,000 patients a year. However, vets urged owners not to ditch their pets following the discovery.

It is carried harmlessly by one in three people but can prove fatal in babies, the elderly, those recovering from surgery or with a weakened immune system.

The Observer reports HPA experts found cats, dogs and rabbits infected over the past year. Spokeswoman Angela Kearns said: "We have observed MRSA in some domestic animals. We confirmed this in our laboratories. The cases came from across Britain so we know it's not one particular cluster.

"We need to know if there is a lot of it out there, what are the risks? We don't know yet whether animals have acquired infection from humans or vice versa. There really is a big question over the whole area."

Some of the strains were similar to those carried by humans but some were not, another HPA spokesman said. Hospitals are the major breeding ground for MRSA. As with humans, animals can carry the bacteria harmlessly and risks only arise if their is a wound.

British Veterinary Association spokesman Dr Alistair Gibson told The Observer: "We don't want to see a massive scare that will make people get rid of their pets. What we need is for research to be done into this. Meanwhile, owners should take a sensible approach, wash their hands regularly and not panic."

MRSA is 'Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus' - if you are treated for it hospitals will track that you have been positive in the past - it can be lethal in outbreaks in immune suppressed and surgical patients. And it is getting nastier as it evolves.

From the CDC:

'MRSA infection usually develops in hospitalized patients who are elderly or very sick or who have an open wound (such as a bedsore) or a tube going into their body (such as a urinary catheter or intravenous [IV] catheter). MRSA infections acquired in hospitals and healthcare settings can be severe.

In addition, certain factors can put some patients at higher risk for MRSA including prolonged hospital stay, receiving broad-spectrum antibiotics, being hospitalized in an intensive care or burn unit, spending time close to other patients with MRSA, having recent surgery, or carrying MRSA in the nose without developing illness

MRSA causes illness in persons outside of hospitals and healthcare facilities as well. Cases of MRSA diseases in the community have been associated with recent antibiotic use, sharing contaminated items, having active skin diseases, and living in crowded settings. Community-associated MRSA infections are typically skin infections, but also can cause severe illness as in recent the cases of four children who died from community-associated MRSA'

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