Transmission of MRSA between companion animals and infected human patients presenting to outpatient medical care facilities

PLoS One. 2011;6(11):e26978. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0026978. Epub 2011 Nov 10.

Abstract

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.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Ambulatory Care*
  • Animals
  • Animals, Domestic
  • Carrier State / microbiology
  • Carrier State / transmission*
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Cat Diseases / microbiology
  • Cat Diseases / transmission*
  • Cats
  • DNA, Bacterial / genetics
  • Dog Diseases / microbiology
  • Dog Diseases / transmission*
  • Dogs
  • Humans
  • Methicillin Resistance
  • Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / genetics
  • Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / pathogenicity*
  • Staphylococcal Infections / microbiology
  • Staphylococcal Infections / transmission*

Substances

  • DNA, Bacterial