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PIn a UK veterinary hospital, it was found that potentially life-threatening, drug-resistant animals could be passed on to their owners.
Tests conducted by Public Health England (PHE) revealed that three cats, one dog, had been colonized by a bacterium able to defend against Linezolid, a "last resort" antibiotic used to treat superbugs such as MRSA (Staphylococcus aureus). resistant to methicillin).
As a result, no staff member or owner would have been taken for health reasons. However, the agency warned veterinary surgeons to apply good cleaning practices after this first discovery.
According to experts, this means that resistance to one of the last resort antibiotics, in decreasing, can spread between different bacterial populations in the animal and in humans.
Dr. Katie Hopkins, of PHE, who led the research, said, "This is worrisome because the transmission of this organism to the owners suggests a risk of spread to other bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus.
This could result in infections that are difficult to treat In order to minimize the transmission of resistant bacteria between pets and humans, veterinary surgeries must ensure proper cleaning and pet owners must wash their hands after manipulated animals. "
The gene that allows bacterial resistance to linezolid is called optrA.
Dr. Hopkins explained that it was the first time that optrA-positive enterococci were identified in pets in the UK.
As part of the routine antibiotic resistance testing, the samples taken were sent to a specialized laboratory of Public Health England.
In addition to the four isolates tested positive at optrA, there were signs of transmission from one animal to the other.
However, thanks to the quick cleaning and decontamination, there was no evidence that a human was contracting an infection in pets, Dr. Hopkins said.
She added, "Our findings reinforce the One-Health view that bacteria and animals can share an antibiotic-resistant bacterium, although the direction of transfer is often difficult to prove.
"We currently do not know the prevalence of linezolid-resistant enterococci in pets and so it is necessary to take a common approach to monitor the emergence and spread of important resistance mechanisms for animals." public health".
The research is presented at the meeting of the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Amsterdam.
It follows a study indicating that children's zoos are becoming fertile ground for drug-resistant insects. The parents warned their parents that their children were at risk of contracting E. coli, which was difficult to treat.
The World Health Organization has classified antimicrobial resistance as one of the ten most serious threats to human health.
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