A study - carried out in Portugal and the UK - suggests that pet dogs and cats play an important role in the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Having found "evidence of the transmission of multidrug-resistant bacteria between sick dogs and cats and their healthy owners in Portugal and the UK", the work raises concerns "that pets may act as reservoirs of resistance and thus help spread resistance to essential drugs".
In this sense, it draws attention to the importance of including families with pets in antibiotic resistance surveillance programs, says the statement from the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID).
Major threat to public health
The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies antibiotic resistance as one of the greatest public health threats facing humanity.
Drug-resistant infections kill more than 1.2 million people worldwide every year and are expected to number 10 million by 2050 if no action is taken.
"Recent studies indicate that the transmission of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) bacteria between humans and animals, including pets, is crucial in maintaining resistance levels, challenging the traditional belief that humans are the main carriers of AMR bacteria in the community," says lead researcher Juliana Menezes, quoted in the press release.
"Analyzing and understanding the transmission of AMR bacteria from pets to humans is essential for effectively combating antimicrobial resistance" in people and animals, adds the PhD student, from the Antibiotic Resistance Laboratory of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon.
Tests in Portugal and the UK
The study involved five cats, 38 dogs and 78 people in 43 homes in Portugal and 22 dogs and 56 individuals in 22 homes in the UK. All the humans were healthy and all the pets had skin and soft tissue infections or urinary system infections.
The scientists tested stool and urine samples and skin swabs from the animals and their owners to detect Enterobacterales (a family of bacteria that includes Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae) resistant to common antibiotics.
The focus was on bacteria resistant to "third-generation cephalosporins" (one of the most important antibiotics, according to the WHO) and "carbapenems (part of the last line of defense when other antibiotics fail)".
According to the statement, "it was not possible to prove the direction of transmission", but "in three of the homes in Portugal, the timing of the positive tests for ESBL/AmpC-producing bacteria strongly suggests that, at least in these cases, the bacteria had passed from pet to human".
Juliana Menezes believes that "learning more about resistance in pets would help in the development of informed and targeted interventions to defend animal and human health".
Caresses, touches or kisses and touching the animal's feces allow bacteria to pass between dogs and cats and their owners, which is why the researchers call for attention to hand washing after petting animals or dealing with their waste.
"When your pet is unwell, consider isolating it in a room to prevent the spread of bacteria throughout the house and clean the rest of the room thoroughly," the researcher advises.
All the dogs and cats remained infection-free after being treated.
The research will be presented at the Global Congress taking place in Barcelona (Spain) between April 27 and 30.
