Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Respiratory illness in pet dogs and cats and public health risks
By Shaker, Alaa A et al.·Published in Vector borne and zoonotic diseases (Larchmont, N.Y.)·2025·Department of Zoonoses·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: The Burden ofAmong Pet Dogs and Cats with Respiratory Illness Outside the Healthcare Facilities: A Possible Public Health Concern.
Plain-English summary
A study found that 154 pets, including 74 dogs and 80 cats, showed signs of respiratory illness, which could be a public health concern. Researchers collected oral swabs to test for infections and discovered that about 6.5% of these animals were positive for a specific bacteria, with a higher rate in dogs (8.1%) than in cats (5%). Some of these bacteria were multidrug-resistant, meaning they don't respond well to common treatments. This suggests that pets with respiratory issues might contribute to the spread of resistant infections in the community.
People also search for: dog respiratory illness treatment · cat coughing causes · multidrug-resistant infections in pets
Abstract
Researchers paid more attention to nosocomialin veterinary hospitals worldwide; however, the research scope toward community-acquiredinfections among animals is largely ignored. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the role of diseased dogs and cats suffering from respiratory illness in transmission of community-acquiredinfection and its public health threat.Oral swabs were collected from 154 pet animals with respiratory signs, including 80 cats and 74 dogs (outpatient visits). The obtained swabs were cultured on CHROMagar™ MH Orientation media for isolation of, and identification of suspected isolates was conducted via Gram staining, conventional biochemical tests, and molecular detection of thegene. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing ofisolates was carried out using the disc diffusion method.Overall, 10 (6.5%) out of 154 diseased pet animals were positive for, where 6 (8.1%) and 4 (5%) dogs and cats were positive, respectively. Multidrug-resistant (MDR)was found in 3.9% of the examined animals. The phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that the obtained sequences from dogs and cats were closely related to human and animal sequences.The occurrence of MDRamong dogs and cats suffering from respiratory illness highlights the potential role of pet animals in the dissemination of MDRin the community.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39405054/