METHICILLIN ?RESISTANT STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS AS A ZOONOTIC PATHOGEN: HOW SAFE IS TO PAT KITTY?

Humans and animals intimately sharing same environments will inevitably be exposed to each other’s normal flora. Veterinarians have higher rates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) nasal carriage compared to the general population and many human infections have been attributed to close animal contacts. Researchers in Europe favor the view that livestock particularly pigs and horses may represent an important reservoir for MRSA. In studies from three continents, MRSA has been isolated from retail meat products from milk and meat samples and from meat industry workers. Some studies have not found any colonization among surveyed pets, for example, among 200 healthy dogs in Europe. One outbreak of MRSA in a family was linked to pet cat. The clearance of ST 80 MRSA colonization in family member with furunculosis did not occur until systemic antimicrobial drug therapy was administered to the cat, which was colonized with same strain. More research is needed to assess the importance of pets as a reservoir of MRSA in the home and to what degree of S.aureus is a Zoonosis.