Abstract
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Animal-assisted therapy has been advocated in various healthcare facilities, including long-term care facilities and pediatric institutions. Dogs and cats are the most commonly used animals in these programs. Several years ago, we demonstrated the presence of multiple bacteria colonizing various animals used for animal-assisted therapy. Surprisingly, several dogs and cats were found to harbor MRSA. With the emerging problem of community-acquired MRSA, we decided to re-visit local animal grooming clinics to determine if dogs and cats might be possible carriers of MRSA. METHODS: All pets cultured were healthy and had not received antibiotics in the previous 30 days. Using standard microbiological techniques, cultures were obtained from the noses, mouths, and fur of 22 dogs and 20 cats. <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> (SA) isolates were tested for methicillin sensitivity by standard MICs. RESULTS: All 42 animals were colonized with SA. Seven (16%) of the 42 isolates obtained were resistant to methicillin. CONCLUSIONS: Although dogs and cats have not previously been associated with MRSA colonization or infections, the isolation of this microorganism in our study is intriguing.
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