- Researchers worry sick pets spread bugs to healthy owners
- Drug-resistant infections kill more than 1.2 million people a year worldwide
Cats and dogs harbor potentially deadly antibiotic-resistant superbugs that they can pass on to their owners, a study suggests.
Researchers warn that the bacteria can spread between pets and healthy humans by petting, touching or kissing them and through handling feces.
Owners should wash their hands after touching their pet or picking up after them and isolate sick animals in a single room, they add.
Scientists from the University of Lisbon issued the alert after analyzing samples of feces, urine and skin swabs taken from cats, dogs and their owners in the United Kingdom and Portugal.
Many were found to be infected with compatible bacterial strains, raising concerns that pets may act as “resistance reservoirs.”
A study has found evidence that multidrug-resistant bacteria are transmitted between sick dogs and cats and their healthy owners in Portugal and the United Kingdom.
The World Health Organization classifies antibiotic resistance as one of the biggest public health threats facing humanity.
Drug-resistant infections already kill more than 1.2 million people a year worldwide, and this number is expected to rise to 10 million by 2050 if no action is taken.
The researchers looked for Enterobacterales, a large family of bacteria that includes E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, resistant to common antibiotics.
Their study, which will be presented at the ESCMID Global Congress, in Barcelona, ​​Spain, later this month, involved five cats, 38 dogs and 78 humans from 43 homes in Portugal and 22 dogs and 56 humans from 22 homes in the United Kingdom.
All pets had skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) or urinary tract infections (UTIs) and all humans were healthy.
Antibiotic resistance is reaching dangerously high levels around the world. Drug-resistant infections kill more than 1.2 million people a year worldwide
In five Portuguese households, one with a cat and four with dogs, both the pet and the owner carried the same strains of Enterobacterales, indicating that it had been transmitted between the pet and the owner.
In one of these five homes, a dog and its owner also had the same antibiotic-resistant strain of Klebsiella pneumoniae.
In two UK households, both dog and owner carried the same Enterobacterales.
Many more pets became infected when their owners did not.
In cases of coinfection, it was not possible to demonstrate the direction of transmission; However, in three of the Portuguese households, the timing of the positive tests for Enterobacterales strongly suggests that, at least in these cases, the bacteria were being transmitted. He went from pet to human.
Lead researcher Juliana Menezes said: “Recent research indicates that the transmission of antimicrobial resistant bacteria (AMR) between humans and animals, including pets, is crucial to maintaining resistance levels, challenging the traditional belief that “Humans are the main carriers of AMR bacteria in the world.” community.
‘Understanding and addressing the transmission of AMR bacteria from pets to humans is essential to effectively combat antimicrobial resistance in human and animal populations.
“Our findings underscore the importance of including households with pets in national programs that monitor levels of antibiotic resistance.
“Learning more about resistance in pets would help develop informed and targeted interventions to safeguard both animal and human health.”
He added: “When your pet is not feeling well, consider isolating them in one room to prevent the spread of bacteria throughout the house and thoroughly clean other rooms.”