Infection Control

Don't let your dog give you MRSA

Infection Control Weekly Monitor, July 1, 2009

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A new study published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal says that MRSA infections can be spread between pets and their owners through bites. Household pets are considered a reservoir for the infection and it can be transferred through a bite.

Of course this doesn’t mean your dog is giving the infection to you. “MRSA might be on a person's skin and, as they get bitten, it goes inside,” Mark Enright, a British expert on MRSA, told the BBC.

Severe infections from MRSA or other germs as a result of cat or dog bites occur in about 20% of bite injuries. These infections can be caused by bacteria carried by the pet or the human.



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