Now, with 3 dogs, 10 cats, 2 sugar gliders, 10 chickens, 3 horses and 2 cows (all pets), I know there are some dangers associated with having pets. MRSA dangers, you might ask? Yep, there are MRSA dangers.
This is the story of Rachael Wakefield, of Manchester, England, who has acquired a rare respiratory illness from the droppings of her pet cockatiel that has left her suffering and on 24/7 oxygen for the last 5 years. If that weren’t enough, one of her trips to the hospital left her with an MRSA infection as well that was nearly fatal. So although she didn’t become ill with MRSA directly from her pet (this is possible however), the illness she had lowered her immunity, and left her susceptable to MRSA.
The moral of the story here is to be aware of the importance of staying healthy in general. I know it is hard to make the decision to give away a beloved pet, believe me I do - but if that pet is making you sick, you have to do the right thing and take care of yourself. You might think that living on oxygen is not so bad, but when you consider what else the illness is doing to your body, and the risk you are taking with your overall health, it becomes so much worse.
Awareness, HA MRSA, Infection Prevention, MRSA, MRSA in Pets, MRSA Internationally, Wellness .gif)
9 responses so far ↓
Hsien Lei // Sep 6, 2006 at 10:20 am
That better be a fake bird on that girl’s shoulder.
Christina // Sep 6, 2006 at 11:36 am
LOL I think that was probably her bird before she gave him away. Poor thing.
Rachael Wakefield // Mar 21, 2007 at 3:09 pm
Yes that is my brid on my shoulder before I gave her away.
Christina // Mar 21, 2007 at 6:30 pm
Hi Rachel - glad to see you. I hope you are doing well! And I hope you aren’t too sad about your bird.
As I said above, we are HUGE pet people - when my husband got MRSA, as he was recovering he wanted really nothing to do with the animals, was a little skittish of everything. I sure sympathize with you. Take good care…
Rachael Wakefield // Mar 22, 2007 at 6:31 am
Thanks, she wasn’t really my bird to be honest, we didn’t get on at all. Every time I walked past her cage she’d run to the end of her perch to bite me, god knows how we got her to stay on my shoulder for more than 2 minutes, I was scared she was going to bite my ear!
I am not doing to well at the moment, MRSA is now in my lungs and is causing considerable damage. My boyfriend who suffers from Cystic Fibrosis is also infected now in his lungs. Seems to be something neither of us can shake off.
Hsien Lei // Mar 22, 2007 at 6:33 am
Rachael: How awful to hear you’re still fighting MRSA!! I’m glad you gave away that bird. As you can see, I’m not much of a pet lover not like Christina. All the best to you and your boyfriend.
Christina // Mar 22, 2007 at 7:37 am
Oh that is awful Rachael. I hope you are seeing some very good doctors - please don’t hesitate to get a second opinion if you need it. I am glad you weren’t too close to that bird though! Take good care of yourself, and keep in touch!
Rebecca // Jan 6, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Hi,
I am new to all this, but becoming educated quickly. My mother has MRSA in her lungs and is on oxygen. She cant seem to shake it. She has been on 5 antibiotics and it keeps coming back and really never gets completely better. I have a question and cant find an answer, so maybe someone knows. She has asthma, emphysema, and autioammune disorders. My sister moved back home with my mom about 6 months ago and brought two small inside dogs. One, a boston and one a wennie dog. Can you tell me if the dogs could be making her worse? or not. She has never had inside animals before.
And we dont have a glue to where she got the MRSA. I hope someone may know the answer to this. This is a horrible thing and Iam sorry that you have this Racheal.
Thanks for any help,
beckyburge@hotmail.com
Valerie // Apr 17, 2008 at 9:53 am
I am currently under treatment for a staph infection (waiting for the results, which I do think will be MRSA). My family is driving me crazy to get rid of my cats, dog, 1 duck, and about 50 chickens. I have always been extremely healthy & robust…no medical problems. Until 2006. My husband developed an abcessed sweat gland. Since then, we both have had 4-6 episodes of such. This last episode put me in the hospital for 3 days, surgery, etc. Can my animals (which all seem healthy) give me MRSA/staph? I am at my wits end. Any proven scientific advice that you can give will be greatly appreciated! Please, no urban legends!!
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