Dog owners are being warned about a drug-resistant bacterial infection in pets that could spread to humans and cause blindness.
Concerns arose from reports of the virus detected in the lungs and ears of two dogs in New Jersey, which were taken to the veterinarian with coughing and hearing problems.
But both were infected with the same antibiotic-resistant bacteria that infiltrated popular eye drops, killing four people and blinding 14 last year.
The bacteria is capable of “melting” the fibers on the outside of the eye, causing vision loss, as well as traveling into the bloodstream, where it can potentially cause sepsis, a fatal disease.
As previous studies have found that the infection can be transmitted from humans to animals, experts say it is possible that the virus could be transferred the other way around.
The dogs were found to be infected with a bacteria “very genetically similar” to that which had caused the outbreak among humans (stock)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says 81 people in 18 states were diagnosed with infections from the bacteria in EzriCare, which has caused four deaths and 14 people lost vision. Four others have had their eyeballs removed.
“Fortunately, the owners were not immunocompromised, but we alerted them to the fact that there could be possible transmission to them,” said Dr. Emma Price, a CDC veterinarian who led the report.
‘AND [we told them to] Ideally we would like to keep the dogs away from other dogs in the future, which we understand is a difficult thing to do.’
The eye drops that caused infections in 81 people were found to be contaminated with the bacteria P. aeruginosa, which can cause serious infection.
Tests on the dogs showed they were also infected with P.aeruginosa, a strain “very genetically similar” to that in humans.
These germs are of particular concern to health experts because they are resistant to carbapenem antibiotics, a class of drugs used to treat a wide variety of infections when other antibiotics do not work.
This makes bacteria especially difficult to destroy and risks spreading resistance genes to other pathogens.
Dr. Price said CBS News: “So now that this bacteria has been introduced into the US from artificial tears, this resistance could spread.”
It was unclear where the animals had contracted the strain, and the owners said they had not used the infected eye drops or traveled internationally since before the outbreak.
Researchers presented data on animal infections at a conference organized by the Epidemic Intelligence Service last week.
They suggested that they were likely to have acquired the infection from exposure to contaminated products or from inadequate sterilization of veterinary equipment.
Dogs sometimes transmit bacterial infections to humans, usually by licking open wounds or through contact with the feces or urine of infected animals.
Previous cases include Wisconsin local Greg Manteufel, 48, who had his legs and hands amputated after his dog’s saliva caused a rare blood infection.
In another case, reported in Australia, Tracy Ridout, a 53-year-old mother of two, died a few weeks after contracting bacteria from a “playful bite” given to her by a friend’s German shepherd.
In both cases, the patients suffered from capnocytophaga infection, a germ often found in the mouths of dogs.
Doctors say immunocompromised people, including people who have type 2 diabetes or are obese, are at higher risk of infection from their pets.
Doctors continually sound the alarm about antibiotic resistance in bacteria, because it threatens to make currently treatable diseases dangerous again.
Bacteria capable of resisting antibiotics can survive treatments and transfer the genes that confer resistance to other bacteria, exacerbating the problem.
There are more than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections in the United States each year, a number that scientists fear will continue to rise.
The deadly eye drop outbreak was linked to the EzriCare and Delsam Pharma brands of eye drops that were manufactured in India.
At the factory, workers had failed to properly control infections, causing bacteria to enter the eye drops.
Tests revealed unopened bottles were full of bacteria, while an investigation found factories had dirty equipment and did not use sterilization gowns.
Among those infected in 18 states was firefighter Adam Di Sarro, who was blinded in one eye due to the eye drops.
‘[My infection] It got progressively worse,” he said, “to the point where I couldn’t even see after a few hours.”
‘[Losing one eye] It was difficult and it still is, because I’m still not at work, it’s been five months.’