Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Isolation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from a postoperative wound infection in a horse.
- Journal:
- Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
- Year:
- 1997
- Authors:
- Hartmann, F A et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Clinical Pathology · United States
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A horse developed an infection in a wound after surgery, and tests showed it was caused by a type of bacteria called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). This type of bacteria is known to be hard to treat because it doesn't respond well to many common antibiotics. While MRSA infections are often seen in people, especially in hospitals, they are also being found more frequently in animals. As MRSA becomes more common in both humans and animals, it's important for veterinary labs to have better ways to detect it. The study highlights the growing concern about MRSA infections in pets and livestock.
Abstract
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was isolated from a postoperative wound infection in a horse. Methicillin-resistant S aureus infections in animals have been reported. In human beings, MRSA is an important cause of hospital-acquired (nosocomial) infections. Infections caused by MRSA respond poorly to beta-lactam treatment, and resistance of MRSA to multiple antimicrobials, including aminoglycosides, macrolides, clindamycin, and tetracyclines, is common. Identification of MRSA by routine susceptibility testing may be difficult; therefore, techniques for MRSA detection should be incorporated by clinicopathology laboratories. Because the number of hospital and community-acquired MRSA infections in human beings is increasing, it seems likely that MRSA infections in animals will also become more frequent.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9290826/