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Researchers warn of multi-resistant bacteria in dog food

2021-07-11T21:22:22.701Z


Frozen, raw dog food in particular could endanger the health of dogs and owners - a new study comes to the conclusion. The reason is multi-resistant pathogens.


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It is best to wash your hands with soap after feeding

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Feeding your dog raw food may put your own health and that of your animal at risk.

This is the result of a Portuguese study presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases.

According to the researchers, raw, frozen feed in particular often contains bacteria that are resistant to many antibiotics, which could first be transmitted to the animal and then to its master or mistress.

"The trend towards feeding dogs raw food could encourage the spread of resistant bacteria," warns the research team from the University of Porto.

For the study, the team examined 55 samples from 25 popular brands of dog food.

14 of the samples were feed that was frozen raw and consisted of salmon, goose, turkey, beef, lamb, but also vegetables, among other things.

According to the evaluations, all frozen samples contained antibiotic-resistant enterococci.

The spherical bacteria are part of the normal intestinal flora of humans and numerous mammals, but can cause severe infections of the urinary tract, for example, if they are carried away from the intestinal area.

Among the pathogens were bacteria that were resistant to the antibiotic linezolid, which is used in enterococci as one of the last resort when other antibiotics fail.

The researchers also found resistant bacteria in wet food and other processed food, but only in individual samples.

The authors of the study call for the European authorities to develop greater awareness of the potential health risks posed by raw dog food.

They advise dog owners to wash their hands with soap and water after feeding the animals and collecting dog waste.

Second study: dogs as possible carriers of multi-resistant germs

A second study, which was also presented at the "European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases", shows that it is fundamentally possible for multi-resistant germs to be transmitted between dogs and their masters.

For the study, Portuguese researchers from the University of Lisbon examined 126 people and their 102 animals for bacteria with a specific gene that makes them resistant to the antibiotic colistin.

This is a so-called reserve antibiotic that should only be used when other common antibiotics no longer work.

The people and animals examined came from 80 households.

While all humans were healthy, some of the animals suffered from skin or urinary tract infections.

The researchers actually found bacteria with the gene they were looking for in eight dogs and four people; in two households, both the dogs and the owners were affected. Further genetic analyzes of the pathogen indicated that in one of the two households the bacteria in dogs and humans were identical. Although it cannot be proven with certainty who infected whom, in this case it is more likely that the animal transmitted the pathogen to humans, the researchers report. Cats were not affected in the sample.

Despite the multi-resistant pathogens, none of the people examined showed signs of disease, so therapy was not necessary.

The sick animals were treated successfully.

Multi-resistant bacteria are generally not a threat to healthy people.

You carry the pathogen on your skin, in your throat or in your intestines without noticing it.

However, if the pathogens come into contact with people with a weakened immune system or get into a wound during an operation, for example, they can become a problem.

German clinics: Every year around 30,000 infections with multi-resistant pathogens

There is cause for concern if pets could spread resistance to reserve antibiotics, warn the researchers.

However, the data does not show how often this happens.

Basically, the massive use of antibiotics in factory farming and the incorrect use of antibiotics in humans are considered to be the greatest risk factors for the development of multi-resistant germs.

The fact that bacteria develop resistance is a natural process and part of evolution: If the pathogens come across antibiotics, they should all actually die.

Due to random mutations in the genome, however, it is possible that a few protective mechanisms against the antibiotics have built up and survive.

The far too high use of the medication in patients and in animal fattening accelerates this process.

In German clinics, around 30,000 people are infected with multi-resistant germs every year, many of whom bring the pathogens on their bodies to the hospital themselves.

The World Health Organization warns that the problem could worsen significantly in the next few decades if no new antibiotics are developed.

Then infections that can still be treated well today could become a danger again.

irb / AFP

Source: spiegel

All tech articles on 2021-07-11

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