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

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.

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Citation

Published Version (Please cite this version)

10.1371/journal.pone.0026978

Publication Info

Ferreira, Jorge Pinto, Kevin L Anderson, Maria T Correa, Roberta Lyman, Felicia Ruffin, L Barth Reller and Vance G Fowler (2011). Transmission of MRSA between companion animals and infected human patients presenting to outpatient medical care facilities. PLoS One, 6(11). p. e26978. 10.1371/journal.pone.0026978 Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/13323.

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Scholars@Duke

Ruffin

Felicia Ruffin

Research Program Leader, Tier 1
Reller

Lyman Barth Reller

Professor of Pathology

To develop and to evaluate procedures and protocols that support, enhance, and extend the ability of the clinical laboratories to carry out effectively their primary service and teaching responsibilities as relates to detection of sepsis, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, and diagnosis of tuberculosis.


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