A new report in the New England Journal of Medicine demonstrates that MRSA can be harbored and transmitted by cats. Dogs have already been designated as MRSA carriers.In the report a healthy woman repeatedly suffered from multiple, deep abscesses. Cultures of specimens obtained from her husband and their two children yielded MRSA on several occasions. Antimicrobial nasal ointment and antiseptic washes were recommended for the family. Although the woman's husband and children became MRSA-negative, she remained MRSA positive.
Then her three cats were screened. A culture of a specimen obtained from one cat yielded MRSA with the same antimicrobial-resistance pattern as that of the human. The MRSA-positive cat was treated with antimicrobials. Four weeks later, screening tests done on the family were negative for MRSA and the woman's deep abscesses disappeared.
The report concluded that pets may be considered as possible MRSA carriers that can cause infection or re-infection in humans.
Source: http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/may08/080501p.asp
