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Drug-resistant infections kill 700,000 people each year… and PETS can pass super-tough bugs to you
- Researchers looked at pets on antibiotics that may have shared bugs with owners
- The study focused on super-strong bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics
Pets can pass drug-resistant superbugs to their owners, a study suggests.
Cats and dogs can share their bacteria with us through licking, pinching and scratching, or through contact with their faeces, although the chances of getting sick from this are slim.
However, they can help influence the spread of superbugs.
Researchers in the UK and Portugal wanted to know if pets treated with antibiotics for skin, tissue and urinary tract infections might be sharing their bugs with their owners.
They took stool samples from 43 pets and 78 people in 43 households in Portugal, and from seven dogs and eight people in seven households in the UK. The study focused on bacteria that are resistant to new antibiotics.
Researchers in the UK and Portugal wanted to know if pets treated with antibiotics for skin, tissue and urinary tract infections might be sharing their bugs with their owners (File image)
In six Portuguese homes, the DNA of a superbug of one cat and five dogs was similar to that of their owners, suggesting bacteria were likely exchanged between the animals and humans (File image)
In six Portuguese homes, the DNA of a superbug of one cat and five dogs was similar to that of their owners, suggesting that bacteria were likely exchanged between the animals and humans. This was seen in one dog and owner in the UK. It is not known whether the bacteria have been passed from pet to human or vice versa.
But study leader Juliana Menezes, from the University of Lisbon, said it was vital to include pets “in assessments of antimicrobial resistance.”
Drug-resistant infections now kill about 700,000 people a year around the world.