Autumn Editorial

If anyone doubted that MRSA (and indeed, by implication, the whole range of bacterial pathogens) was capable of presenting a constantly evolving and growing risk to pets and owners, the reality is now unavoidable. In a paper published in Veterinary Microbiology Shelley Rankin and other researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have identified Panton valentine leukocidin toxin positive MRSA strains carried by companion animals.

This marks a significant increase in the risks presented to companion animals, and highlights once again the importance of a serious and systematic approach to post-operative care and infection control in the veterinary world.

The Panton valentine leukocidin toxin kills white blood cells and other tissue. It causes a range of dangerously severe reactions in humans, and these reactions have been noted in companion animals. Even more worrying, PVL toxins have been identified in the community strains of MRSA, so the current tendency of some vets to suggest that it is the owners, having had hospital contact, who must have infected their pet, is shown to be even more of a red herring.

But the attribution of blame is also a dead-end; there is no benefit to be gained by seeking to blame one or the other simply in order to avoid criticism. We all need to understand how pets become infected, but that has to be the starting point of action, not the end of responsibility.

The story does not end there, though. Staph. Intermedius is now developing resistance to oxycillin, and ultimately this may be of far greater danger to our pets than Staph. A simply because it is far more common in dogs than MRSA.

The ability of bacteria to adapt to new conditions and threats is well known, and we, as pet owners and vets, need to respond to this ability with more than just another antibiotic. The risks presented by MRSA, as well as the many other pathogens to which we and our pets are exposed, needs to be dealt with at every step of the way, and that requires a change in culture and attitude as well as practice.

Post-operative infections can no longer be thought of as an inconvenience that sometimes delay recovery from surgery, nor can they be approached as something that ‘just happen’. They are not the unavoidable consequence of surgical procedures but an opportunistic enemy that will always try to find the cracks in our practice and exploit them.

Comments

[Michael A Fowler, MBA]

Panton valentine leukocidin toxin positive MRSA strains are not new to the UK. They are just re-establishing after many years of being dormant.

USA-300 has now been discovered in the Castro district of San-Francisco. This is another PVL strain that is currently within the gay community but can easily be transferred to the hetrosexual population.

For many years, I have studied MRSA and associated pathogens. MRSA in pets follows the natural course of human infection and the strains are the same.

Reading about Bella and the heartbreak of losing such a pet to this pathogenic bacterium is enough to make a person weep. But, sadly, so is the attitude of many professional bodies that govern our medical and canine care.

It remains a sad fact that while talking about infection control, these bodies are not 'up to scratch' with many new products that are showing excellent promise. Instead they want to rely on the Pharmaceutical companies to provide an answer and place huge barriers in the way of smaller companies and individuals. This has been observed both in the UK and the United States, where 'Big Pharma' rule supreme.

The reality is, UK research is about 10 years behind the US. The FDA in the US places so many restrictions upon legitimate and proven products, that one wonders where the truth about these organisations lie. Thousands of people are dying every day, while Big Pharma are looking for a solution that already exists.

If I promote this product, people think I am a salesman. The real truth, is that my website was set up to help people and I make nothing from it at all. The small amount of profit it generates goes into giving advice on how to best treat a persons or animals ailment and humanitarian help in cases of extreme hardship.

The easiest way to combat the spread of MRSA in both animals and humans is by prevention. We have that technology today, right here, right now.

I am currently working with people who have been rejected by the healthcare profession and have been left to die because the resources of their antibiotics have been exhausted. I bring new hope to people and the results have been talking for themselves.

It is my profound belief that Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus bacterium will become the major healthcare concern of all time. But the time for action is now. Cleaning hospitals and washing hands will not prevent this pathogen from mutating into new and devestating forms.

Why do we have to talk with dumb politicians and medical people with closed minds and attitudes to get any action? Sometimes, action is better than words and far more effective. Words do not kill pathogenic bacterium within the body, or prevent the spread.

Michael A Fowler, MBA
http://www.mrsamedical.com/