Antibiotic misuse by vets is fuelling rise of Superbugs

Dogs and other household pets are fuelling the rise of so-called superbugs by acting as a “reservoir” of drug-resistant bacteria, a leading scientist has warned.

Dr Tim Nuttall, a veterinary dermatologist at the University of Liverpool, has shown that 40 per cent of healthy pet dogs carry multi-drug-resistant strains of bacteria, a higher proportion than seen in people, highlighting pets as a potentially important source of antibiotic-resistant germs.

Pet owners kissing and being licked by their animals and a subsequent failure to wash their hands between handling pets and eating contributed to the spread of bacteria.

Scientists have previously shown that bacteria frequently crosses the species barrier between owners and pets, meaning that any problem in pets is likely to affect the wider human population. The findings come after Britains most senior medical advisor warned this week of the 'apocalyptic' threat of drug resistant infections.

Dr Nuttall blames the overuse of antibiotics by vets and failure properly to administer courses of antibiotics by pet owners which has led to a rapid rise in the number of strains of bacteria that cannot be killed with conventional antibiotics.

"If vets continue merrily misusing antibiotics then drug resistance builds up in the bacteria carried by our pets" said Dr Nuttall.
"We know that vets are over-prescribing antibiotics and using too powerful antibiotics that should be for special cases. We know that only 30% of pet owners give the course of antibiotics as the vet intended".

The result is the bacteria carry powerful drug resistant genes that can be transferred to more dangerous bacteria causing them to morph into Superbugs.

The Times - Saturday 26 January 2013

I cant remember the last time either of our dogs got antibiotics - our vets certainly dont over prescribe & our Katie especially is at the vets quite often.

I saw this on the TV the other morning, and its not just animals, the human race is in danger of developing resistance to ALL antibiotics...

i think they said by around 2030 (or something like that, it may have been earlier) we will be in danger of developing a resistance to ALL the known antibiotics we have available.

If memory serves me well, they say something along the lines as, we only have a certain number of antibiotics, that has to cover everything, we do not as yet have any new ones , and it takes years if at all to develop them.

So its down to doctors to stop prescribing and patients to stop demanding for every ailment they go to the surgery with.

I wonder (and just musing here) if vets give antibiotics as a first rather than last resort because we don't have an NHS for dogs.

Whereas, we are less likely to complain if antibiotics aren't initially given for ourselves only to find they clear up the condition once they are administered, with the cost of consultation on top of full price for the meds we are far more likely to be dissatisfied if this happens with our pets?

hmmm...
my dog never ever got any antibiotics yet, there was never a reason for

and me? can't really remember, I'm not running to the doc because of every little thing

guess our cows will get antibiotics sometimes of the vet, if it's necessary, but I'm not snogging our cows, so I should be fine