Animals & MRSA

MRSA - a growing menace for humans and animals alike

Link: Today - 999 Today

      Over the last few years the MRSA 'superbug' has been in the news with alarming regularity as one hospital after another has been affected by it. However, it can also have a devastating effect on veterinary surgeries, as Christine Lee of World Animal Day has been finding out.

MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) is a generally harmless bacterium, but one which can prove fatal to a person or an animal with a weakened immune system, for example someone who has just undergone surgery. It can be spread by direct contact, or by coughing or sneezing, and can be carried from people to animals and vice versa. MRSA is notoriously resistant to antibiotics, and it is thought that over-reliance on antibiotics in the past has led to its evolution.

The spread of MRSA in hospitals has often been linked to poor hygiene practices. So it is unsurprising that it should also be on the increase in veterinary surgeries.

More at the link above

Claire Rayner & Peter Purves are Foundation Patrons

Claire Rayner, Honorary Patron

Claire Rayner, social activist and patron of the Patients Association, has encouraged those who work on behalf of animals and infection prevention. “We as a society need to be concerned with animals contracting MRSA. It is a very worrying situation. More research needs to be done for the future I am concerned about cross-contamination from people to animals, and vets should be diligent about infection control. We should all be concerned with protecting pets from unnecessary suffering and death.”

Claire is passionate about the issue of MRSA and believes that there can be no relaxation of all our efforts to reduce its threat to the very minimum.

Peter Purves, Honorary Vice-Patron

Pets and animals have been part of Peter's life since he was a lad - his first dog was a Spaniel named Rusty - and continue to play an important role. He has been the BBC’s principal Presenter and Commentator at Crufts since 1989. and has presented many other animal programmes including 65 editions of Pets Go Public for Channel 5, the Discovery Channel's Breed All About It, All About Dogs and Superdogs.

“MRSA is going to become a serious problem for companion animals if we don’t take action now, and we need as much information about it as we can get. The Bella Moss Foundation is taking the lead in bringing support and awareness to pet owners and vets on this emerging problem and I am pleased to be associated with their work.”

He has been editor of the monthly magazine, Mad About Dogs, is Vice Patron of Dogs for the Disabled and President of The Canine Supporters Charity and the Rugby Animal Trust

Bella Moss Foundation: moving ahead in 2006

THE BELLA MOSS Foundation for research into MRSA and other serious infections in pets is making exciting strides forward in 2006, following on the extraordinary progress that the group made during 2005.

As reported previously, the Foundation was established by actress Jill Moss, 35, following the untimely death of her ten year-old Samoyed Bella from MRSA contracted at the North London Veterinary Hospital where she was being treated for a leg injury.

Moss was horrified when she learned that hygiene procedures to prevent the spread of such infections as MRSA were not required standard practice in veterinary surgeries. Faced with initial scepticism from the Veterinary establishment about the prevalence of MRSA in pets, Moss was able to gather together many other cases of dogs that had been infected with the so-called 'superbug', this proving her case.

The RCVS and BVA are now backing Moss in her campaign whilst conducting their own research into the best ways to prevent the spread of MRSA amongst pets.

Bella Moss Foundation at Crufts.
The Bella Moss Foundation will be present at Crofts again this year to continue its work in promoting awareness of MRSA and other serious infections in pets. Jill Moss told OUR DOGS: "Crufts is a huge event and gives us the opportunity to make new contacts and renew old ones as part of our strategy to raise awareness. We will be visiting different exhibitors as part of our work and letting the press know how important an issue this is. "But most importantly, it's also an unparalleled opportunity to again meet real pet owners who may not have heard of our work yet, and who may know nothing of Bella's story or the issues related to serious infections. That is the real purpose of what the Foundation does."

BMF Conference
The 1st International Conference on MRSA in Animals to be held on l9th/21st June at the University of Liverpool in Leahurst, Wirral is a major step forward in bringing the issues around MRSA to the veterinary profession. With some of the world's most eminent veterinary leaders speaking, we expect the research and clinical aspects to be thoroughly explored and opened up to practicing vets. This event, which the Bella Moss Foundation is holding in partnership with the University of Liverpool, is the first to make MRSA in animals the focus. Moss commented: "We believe that it shows that there is a new awareness in the veterinary world of the risk to animals of MRSA and a desire to prevent it becoming as big a threat to animal health as it is to humans."

Information About and Classification of Pathogens
The Foundation's support for a central database on issues related to MRSA and other serious infection is well known The BMF strongly support the principle of centralising information and standardising laboratory methods in analysing and cataloguing infectious organisms in order to clarify vets' and laypersons' understanding of pathogens and increase their ability to identify and treat them.

BMF and The Practice Standard Scheme
The BMF is strongly in favour of a compulsory or statutory system that improves the overall standard of veterinary practice. Moss said: "Although the RCVS has launched its Practice Standard Scheme, the Bella Moss Foundation believes that the evidence shows that there has been too little take-up by new practices to show that the scheme is valued in any way by practicing vets, and that the scheme itself is too limited in scope. "The only way that overall standards can be improved in the short term and thus improve confidence in veterinary services is by making good practice a requirement rather than an option. This would help narrow the gap between the best and the worst of practices and force the profession as a whole to think more collectively about issues such as infection control."

For full details about the Bella Moss Foundation, see the Charity website http://www.thebellamossfoundation.com and the Campaign website: http://www.pets-mrsa.com

For details of the 1st International Conference on MRSA in Animals, see website: http://pcwww.liv.ac.uk/vetvirology/mrsaconference.htm

Samoyed owners give generous gift at Crufts

Link: Our Dogs Newspaper

On the last day of this year’s Crufts show, Founder and President of The Bella Moss Foundation, Jill Moss, received a cheque for £117 from Charlotte Craig who had raised the money from the Samoyed exhibitors on Crufts’ opening day.

Charlotte said, "We held a raffle and the response was astonishing. Bella’s story has had an enormous impact on Sammy owners; we all can understand what a terrible experience it was for Jill to lose Bella in the way she did, and everyone seems to want to show their support for what The Foundation is trying to do. That’s why we raised so much in such a short time.

Charlotte has been involved in helping The Foundation since she met Jill at Crufts in 2005. "It seems unbelievable that Jill and I met by chance almost exactly a year ago." She said. "I had heard about what happened to Bella and had been trying to get in touch with Jill but without success. I came to Crufts last year still not having made contact and then, when I was waiting to take one of my Sammys into the ring, this woman came up to me and asked me to look at one of her brochures. I immediately knew it was Jill and said ‘I’ve been looking for you.’ Since then I’ve done everything I can to help."

This is the second donation that Charlotte has been able to make to The Foundation, and she hopes there will be many more to come. "We want to make sure that the work of The Foundation is given the support it needs," she said, "and that it gets as much publicity as possible. I’m really pleased that more and more people are hearing of The Bella Moss Foundation."

Jill agreed that there was a growing awareness of the work The Foundation was doing. "We have had the most amazing support from the press," she said, "but most particularly Our Dogs newspaper. They have been a fantastic help, and without them we would not have been able to get our message out nearly as effectively."

Jill received the cheque from Charlotte at the Our Dogs Stand at the Our Dogs stand accompanied by Foundation Secretary Mark Dosher and Our Dogs Editor Vince Hogan with Our Dogs owner David Cavill.

"We want to thank everyone who bought a raffle ticket from Charlotte," said Jill, "and all of those who have helped us over the past year. In particular we are very grateful to Quistel for their support in including our leaflet in their handouts.

The prize raffled by Charlotte was a cuddly dog immediately named ‘Bella’ by the winner, Samantha Critchley of Chester

Foundation helping US vets and owners

The Bella Moss Foundation Helps pet people in the UK and US
More and more people are seeking help and advice on their companion animals from The Bella Moss Foundation. Jill Moss, Foundation President, says, “Over the past 18 months we have had calls from people whose animals have MRSA or who have it themselves and are concerned for their pets. I have been able to put some of these in touch with the veterinary experts we have made contact with and sometimes that has been all that was needed. Sometime, though, we have had to help people understand the meaning of the information they have been given, or even go with them as support through a difficult meeting. At time it has not been easy, but the help The Foundation has managed to give has made it all worthwhile.”

MRSA is not usually associated with companion animals, and a great deal of The Foundation’s input has been to help people deal with the shock of realising that it has caused a death or serious illness. “Many people believe that, because MRSA is usually associated with humans, it should affect animals at all. When it does, it causes tremendous feelings of guilt and anger because we believe we should be able to protect our companion animals from infections like this. My own experience of losing my beloved companion Bella to MRSA is, unfortunately, not unique, and every pet owner who last lost their animal to MRSA has felt much as I have.”

“People feel isolated and stigmatised when a pet contracts MRSA,” says Jill. “They are often told that that they are the source of their pet’s infection but without any clear indication of how that could be possible. The turmoil of seeing a pet go through a horrendous experience ending perhaps in death or serious disability can be compounded by the fact that those we entrust with the health of our pets don’t themselves have any clear idea of what they are dealing with and yet who also have no reluctance in placing blame on owners.”

Jill says that The Foundation encourages pet owners to develop good working relationships with their vets and make sure that the lines of communication are kept open. “The decisions we make are only as good as the advice that is given and the care that can be provided, and until we have clear mandatory standards introduced into veterinary practices, care for our companion animals will always be a lottery. For that reason we support the principle behind the Royal College’s practice Standards Scheme, but want to see it expanded and made compulsory.”

The UK is not the only country to have problems with MRSA, and The Foundation has appointed an official Representative to carry the work to the United States. “The approach seems to be quite different in the US,” says Jill. “The people who have contact us say there is much less awareness of MRSA in companion animals and much less willingness to address issues such as routine swabbing and infection control. There also appears to be much more difficulty in accessing expert information over there.

We have been able to put US vets in touch with UK experts and it has been something o an eye-opener for them. Kim Bloomer, The Foundation’s US Representative, has already been busy publicising The Foundation’s work and organised an on-line conference where people could seek answers to the questions they had and which was attended by a senior DEFRA official.

“The Bella Moss Foundation has already made an important difference to the lives of pets here in the US,” said Kim, “but there is still a great deal to do.” Jill says that The Foundation has been asked for help on lots of issues. “We get enquiries from people who have MRSA and who’s pets are going to have surgery. They need to know how to deal with post-operative care issues and handle the risks of cross-contamination. We get owners who are colonised with MRSA wanting to know about the cycle of re-infection, particularly if their pet is also colonised. We also get a great many questions on the various treatments available and which ones are best for dealing with MRSA.

Of course, providing people with this information is a fulltime job in itself. Offering practical help and advice to owners and vets is something we have had to work very hard to achieve. It’s wonderful to hear that due to early swabbing and good communication recovery rates are high. It’s a sad fact, though, that some owners only find us when it’s already too late.” Jill says, “When Bella died of MRSA in August 2004 I searched extensively for information and found nothing. Now, at least, people concerned with their pet’s health can find us immediately and this is the legacy Bella leaves behind for other animals. Bella’s death has not been in vain.”

Pets MRSA founder at Crufts

Last year Jill Moss came to Crufts to raise awareness of MRSA in companion animals and also of her website, pets-mrsa.com. In the year since that visit Jill has transformed her website into a Charitable Company, The Bella Moss Foundation (www.thebellamossfoundation.com), and the modest aim of bringing information to pet owners has grown into projects with a leading University, participation in Government committees, and involvement in teaching veterinary students.

Foundation President Jill Moss thanked the Kennel Club for inviting her back to Crufts so that The Foundation could make new contacts and renew old ones as it continues its work. Jill also wants to express thanks to Our Dogs Newspaper for their support.