Researchers emphasize the importance of monitoring the health of both pets and their owners; understand more about
Between 2018 and 2020, 15% of pets and 13% of their owners had similar bacteria. The data are from research presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID), in Lisbon, after collecting feces from 58 volunteers and from 40 dogs and 18 cats from the participants to identify whether the exchange of microorganisms occurs. between humans and their pets.
A THIRD OF SIMILAR MICROORGANISMS FOUND BETWEEN PETS AND THEIR TUTORS WERE SUPERBACTERIA
The results of the research show that is it possible to have this exchangewhere the data showed that a third of these microorganisms found were superbugs, that is, drug resistant. “Our findings show not only the sharing of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, but also of genes related to antibiotic resistance, between companion animals and their owners”said in a statement, one of the authors of the study and a researcher at the University of Lisbon, Juliana Menezes.
With a genetic sequencing analysis, the researchers identified the animals as potent “reservoirs” of these bacteria, which shows the importance of strong monitoring of the health of both pets and humans. “Escherichia coli (E. coli), for example, is common in the intestines of healthy people and animals. There are several types of bacteria, and while most are harmless, some can cause serious problems, such as food poisoning and life-threatening infections.“exemplified Menezes.
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Still, according to the researcher, there is the possibility that only parts of bacteria are shared. “These moving pieces of DNA can be shared between different bacterial populations, in animals and in humans”adds.
Source: Recreio