Veterinary Diseases Caused by Staphylococcus Aureus
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A Condition Common to All Mammals
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Humans and animals can share a variety of diseases but one increasingly common infection is caused by Staphylococcus Aureus (S. Aureus, often called staph), a potentially dangerous condition resulting from bacteria so common that many healthy humans and animals are hosts to it.
S. Aureus is dangerous in animals for not only the potential effect on the infected animal's health, but also the ease with which infections and diseases it causes can be transmitted to humans. For this reason increasing attention is paid to animals used as food or companions. All mammals are vulnerable to staph infections and as noted by Charles River Laboratories International, Inc., gerbils, hamsters, mice and rats in laboratory conditions can develop skin and eye infections or abscesses, infections of the genital tract and other conditions, with unsanitary lab practices highly suspect as the cause.
S. Aureus can also cause life-threatening illnesses to dogs, with one common disease caused by it being pyaemia dermatitis, a condition of abscesses and contamination of the blood; to horses, sometimes in the form of a disease known as botryomycosis, a bacterial infection of the skin or organs; and to poultry, causing septicaemia and arthritis. Cases of S. Aureus-caused disease have also been reported in cats, pigs, beef cattle and numerous other mammals.
Veterinary care of infected animals is critical to avoid the disease's spread to other animals and prevent transmission to humans. Antibiotics are commonly used in cases that are not resistant.
Resistance to Antibiotics Growing
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In dairy cattle S. aureus is considered highly dangerous and a major cause of mastitis, an inflammation of the udder. According to the Orchard Veterinary Group, the problem exists worldwide and is serious because it's difficult to treat and highly contagious. It also notes that an estimated half of S. Aureus strains have the ability to resist treatment by antibiotics.
Its ability to resist treatment has resulted in a S. Aureus strain known as Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus or MRSA. This persistent aberration of the staph bacteria is a growing concern worldwide in both human and animal medicine, and it's responsible for an increasing number of deaths due to its ability to resist most forms of antibiotic treatment.
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A Global Concern
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One organic farming group, the Soil Association in England, has called for standard testing of all farm animals. The group cites increases in MRSA in populations of Dutch pig farms.
Increasing concern about MRSA is leading to increased research in all species. No mammal family has been found to be immune to the disease, and according to J. Scott Weese, Department of Clinical Studies, Ontario Veterinary College, Canada, and the Bella Moss Foundation, the incidence of MRSA in household pets and farm animals is increasing worldwide. The foundation says the infection is most dangerous when it is related to a surgical wound, and otherwise healthy animals can easily lose a limb or worse when it is contracted that way.
All sources above urge testing where concerns exist and immediate medical attention when S. Aureus is found in any laboratory, food source or companion animal.
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