1.5 % of Americans carry MRSA antibiotic resistant Super bug

[Diggie's Friend]

https://www.wired.com/2012/10/superbugs-in-animals/

(For comparison's sake: An estimated 1.5% of Americans carry MRSA in their noses.)

Sadly a few animals out of over a hundred tested at a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center in the Midwest,

that included two rabbits and a shore bird, have also been found to carry MRSA, an antibiotic resistant (Super Bug) bacteria.

A small percentage of the animals also tested, which included one squirrel, were found to carry S. Aureus.

Thankfully that bug, unlike the antibiotic resistant MRSA Super Bug, is sensitive to treatment by the antibiotic Methicillin.

[Diggie's Friend]

More on MRSA: http://vetmed.illinois.edu/pet_colum...ts-about-mrsa/

MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus) are mutated strains of “Staphylococcus aureus (Staph aureus, S. aureus, or SA)

How many strains of MRSA are there? https://www.medicinenet.com/mrsa_infection/article.htm

Presently two strains of MRSA are known, the: “Hospital acquired”, (HA-MRSA), and “Commonly Acquired”. (CA-MRSA).

The “Hospital Acquired” MRSA (HA-MRSA) is generally less virulent than the commonly acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA), save for patients with compromised immune systems, and open wounds.

The “Commonly Acquired” MRSA (CA-MSRA) is the more virulent strain that puts both people, and their pets, as well as wildlife, at greater risk of being infected upon contact, or close proximity in the case the lungs are effected.

Out of 114 wild animals taken into care at a Wildlife Rehab Center in the Mid-west:

Seven of the animals, or 6.1%, carried S. aureus that was sensitive to methicillin; these included owls, pigeons, a beaver, a heron, and a squirrel. Three animals, or 2.6%, carried MRSA: two Eastern cottontail rabbits and a lesser yellowlegs, a migratory shorebird.

Since these mutated antibiotic-resistant strains of Staph bacteria have now reached our shores, the game rules' have changed. Before you handle, closely examine, or do a non-invasive procedure a wild squirrel or other wild animal, consider taking few moments to put on vinyl gloves, long sleeve clothing, and if needed safety glasses, and a mask, to prevent exposure to MRSA bacteria. This is especially needful when handling animals that have open wounds, and/or abscesses; for these conditions can be indicative of a MRSA bacterial infection.

[Diggie's Friend]

More IMPORTANT information on MRSA

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...561#post591561

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...562#post591562

[Diggie's Friend]

http://www.pycnogenol.com/fileadmin/...180116_WEB.pdf

Pycnogenol® exerts anti-microbial activity against a broad range of micro-organisms: gram positive and negative bacteria, as well as yeast [Torras et al, 2005). The minimum inhibitory dose ranged from 20 μg/ml (human dosage), such as for Staphilococcus aureus,

[SophieSquirrel]

The moral of the story is you are more likely to die from infectious diseases passed by a human than a squirrel. The Plague averages 7 human deaths yearly from fleas (not squirrels) in endemic areas and every year influenza kills between 12,000 and 49,000 people.

Makes me feel VERY safe handling squirrels and VERY unsafe in the supermarket around uneducated people who can't sneeze in their shirts.

I use gloves when I handle wilds, wash my hands as well as taking common sense precautions to avoid being bitten and I also keep wilds isolated from my NR's.


Credit to Dreamworks

[Diggie's Friend]

Here is the description and symptoms noted for rats that contract MRSA.

https://www.petmd.com/exotic/conditi...ccal_infection