Our four-legged friends can be a danger if we keep them at home? According to research, it would seem so. This is not a fear resulting from a physical attack from our own animals pets, but a risk to our health: domestic dogs and cats could transmit to their owners antibiotic resistant bacteria and vice versa.
What the research says
According to a study that will be presented at European Congress of Clinical Microbiology, scheduled for April 15-18 in Copenhagen, although it is emphasized that the risk of infection is low. The study covered over 2,800 hospitalized patients in hospitals and their pets and shows how «the sharing of drug-resistant organisms between pets and their owners is possible».
The role of dogs, cats and other pets as a reservoir for drug-resistant bacteria is a growing global health concern. According to estimates, deaths directly related to infections caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria are over one million a year, while those indirectly exceed five million. Problem of microorganisms resistant to antibiotics growing throughout Europe – The problem of microorganisms resistant to antibiotics is a growing phenomenon throughout Europe, with Italy, experts warn, which is among the countries with the worst performance. It is estimated in 2050 a mortality due to multi-resistant antibiotics similar to oncological diseases, with 10 million deaths globally.
In Italy, per 100,000 inhabitants, there are at least 19 deaths a year attributable to infections with multi-resistant microorganisms, compared to 2 in the Netherlands, last on the list.
THE IMPACT OF AMR ON PUBLIC HEALTH ECDC SCENARIOS
Filippo Pieralli, Tuscan Regional Representative for the Implementation of the National Plan to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance, @AOUCareggi #FOCUS Fight healthcare-associated infections #Firenze #28Ottobre2019 pic.twitter.com/0poEyYHeXw— Healthcare Engine (@MOTORESANITA) October 28, 2019
In February, the Ministry of Health approved the new National Plan to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance 2022-2025, which focuses on the «transition» of patients between hospital and territory, which is becoming a harbinger of new infections from multi-resistant microorganisms.