Can a dog catch antibiotic resistant problems from people????

For the 1st time ever I had my vet "speechless" when I asked him if Sage could catch things like MRSA from people we visit. His response was..."you(meaning me) would be much more at risk of catching something like MRSA and dying from it than Sage". I work in the health care field and know about universal precautions but was worried more about Sage. He said even things like the flu would be more of a problem for me than for my dogs. I feel better now!

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Permalink Reply by Erin on January 11, 2014 at 3:36pm

Hmm I have not heard of any dog catching MRSA or human diseases yet but it is always good to do research on. I did find this link though..I haven't read through all of it yet.

http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/skin/c_dg_antibiotic_resistant_...

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Permalink Reply by Erin on January 11, 2014 at 3:38pm

I would watch him but I believe if he is kept in a healthy state he should do fine!

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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on January 11, 2014 at 5:26pm

I have known a lot of dogs with MRSA, where they got it is anybody's guess. I know that you can contract MRSA from a dog (a year ago I was hospitalized with MRSA from a dog bite). Several years ago it was much more common for dogs to get MRSI (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus intermedius) but lately I feel like we are seeing more cases of MRSA in dogs as well, it used to be mainly a HORRIBLE ear infection type issue but now it seems more common all over the body as well.

From the CDC website:

"In conclusion, dogs and other pets living in close contact with human MRSA carriers can become colonized with MRSA. Failure to detect and treat these colonized pets can result in recurrent MRSA colonization or infection in humans. Therefore, the risk of pets being the source of unexplained carriage or relapse of infection in humans should be recognized. Antimicrobial therapy of healthcare workers and, at the same time, of MRSA carriers and any infected family members or pets, can eliminate recurrent MRSA carriage. Pets should be treated systemically, since topical application is impractical."

full article is here: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/10/12/04-0387_article.htm