How can you tell if your pet has ringworm?

Sherry
Montgomery, AL

Ringworm is an extremely frustrating syndrome.

Ringworm is not a worm. It is a fungus. The fungus is ubiquitous. It can spread from pets to people, and vice-versa. It also can be contracted from the environment. It is almost impossible to eliminate ringworm from a contaminated area.

The fungi that cause ringworm often cause a red, circular rash on the skin of infected humans. The rash looks like a worm under the skin. This is the origin of the name. In animals, ringworm may cause hair loss, scabbing, red skin, or itching.

A black light can be used to diagnose some forms of ringworm. Microscopic evaluation of specially prepared hairs is used in other cases. The most reliable method of diagnosis involves plucking several hairs from a suspected lesion and using a special culture plate to isolate the fungus. This process can take up to ten days to yield a diagnosis.

It is not possible to diagnose ringworm through visual evaluation of a suspected lesion.

In my experience, ringworm is overdiagnosed in pets. Children often catch the disease at school (or in the garden), and pets often are wrongly held to blame. In my experience, pets are as likely to contract ringworm from people as the other way around.

That said, it is possible for pets to spread ringworm to humans. Any pet with a suspicious skin lesion should go to the vet for a ringworm culture.

Go to my web site for more information on ringworm:

http://drbarchas.com/ringworm

Photo: Caroldermoid. [Note: I am not convinced the cat in the photo has ringworm. Allergies are more likely.]

Share this entry with your pawple anywhere:

• Can Pets and People Share “Superbugs”?
• How Much and How Often Should I Feed my Dog?
• Why do Pets Twitch When Their Skin is Touched?
• Children and Pets are Good for Each Other. Follow Basic Guidelines so Nobody Gets Hurt.
• Which Ingredients are Most Likely to Cause Food Allergies in Dogs and Cats?

Is it possible for an animal to contract MRSA from
infectected humans?

Ramona
Tiffin Ohio

Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, also known as MRSA, is a strain of bacteria that is resistant to multiple antibiotics. MRSA can spread from infected humans to pets. It also can spread from pets to humans.

MRSA has been in the news quite a bit lately because of its status as a superbug–a bacteria that causes infections that are exceptionally difficult to clear. Many people contract MRSA in hospitals. Many hospital workers are believed to carry the bacteria.

In people, MRSA may infect wounds or surgical sites. It can cause pneumonia, bladder infections, and, in severe cases, sepsis (infection of the blood) and death. Some people carry MRSA without showing any symptoms. These people may infect animals and other humans.

In animals, MRSA is most commonly known to cause difficult skin infections. It also has been documented in the noses of pets.

Many vets believe that most animal cases of MRSA result from exposure to infected humans in the house. Cases of animals and humans passing the bacteria to each other repeatedly have made news in the veterinary community.

MRSA infections in dogs and cats are thought to be quite rare. However, the dangerous nature of MRSA is a good reason to see a vet if your pet shows any unusual symptoms.

Share this entry with your pawple anywhere:

• How is Ringworm Diagnosed?
• How Much and How Often Should I Feed my Dog?
• Why do Pets Twitch When Their Skin is Touched?
• Which Ingredients are Most Likely to Cause Food Allergies in Dogs and Cats?
• Why is it Fair for Dogs, but not Cats, to go Outside?

Travel is a passion of mine. I find that few things enrich one’s life more than experiencing different cultures, cuisines, and landscapes.

However, as a veterinarian and animal lover, I am often disturbed by the animals I see in my travels. Sadly, not every animal is loved and cared for as well as it should be.

In Nicaragua, the mange rate in dogs appears to be 100%. In Botswana, if a dog is nearby when you bend down to tie your shoe, he will run away because he assumes that you are reaching for a rock to throw at him. In parts of Vietnam, dogs are rarely seen on the streets, but frequently encountered on restaurant menus.

But what I saw recently on a trek to a remote village in northern Laos surprised me on an entirely new level. I am afraid that the lack of veterinary care for the animals in the village was directly affecting the health of the village’s human inhabitants.

In the village, there were free-roaming pigs, dogs, cats, chickens, cows, and water buffalo. Also prevalent in the village were barefoot children. There was no running water. Hygienic standards were abysmal.

And I could see the effects of the poor hygiene, in both the animals and the children. The dogs and cats had distended abdomens (consistent with intestinal worms) and poor quality hair coats (consistent with mange). Both of these diseases can spread between people and animals. And I suspect that they were doing just that–several children had distended abdomens that looked remarkably like the abdomens of the cats and dogs.

And I can only imagine what other forms of disease transmission might be occurring in such an area. Hookworms were likely spreading from dogs to the barefoot children. The pigs likely contained Trichonella. The area was a perfect breeding ground for the H5N1 strain of deadly bird flu. Rabies is common.

I have said on many occasions that healthy pets pose very little risk of spreading disease to human beings. And I firmly believe that. If you take good care of your pet, there is almost no chance that he or she can make you sick.

The situation in the village I visited was an extreme one. But it reminded me nonetheless of the importance of flea preventatives, regular deworming, vaccination, proper hygiene and regular veterinary care. It’s what’s best for your pet, but it’s also what’s best for you.

Share this entry with your pawple anywhere:

• How is Ringworm Diagnosed?
• Can Pets and People Share “Superbugs”?
• Pets and people can share diseases: part one

Many thanks to Ted R. for sending the link to an interesting article on CNN. Please be aware that you can use the “Ask Dr. Barchas a Question” tool to forward material that you think might be appropriate for this blog.

The article reports on a woman who was infected with a dangerous strain of Staphylococcus bacteria, called MRSA. It is difficult to treat, and resistant to many antibiotics.

From the article:

(AP) — People struggling to get rid of recurrent staph infections might want to consider an often-overlooked source: the family pet.

A German woman repeatedly battled the same strain of drug-resistant superbug MRSA until her cat was tested and treated.

It’s one of the few documented cases of transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus between a person and a cat.

In people, MRSA often causes skin lesions, rashes, boils, and abscesses. In severe cases, it can cause major, life-threatening infections. In pets, the bacteria generally seems to be less pathogenic, although it may cause a variety of skin problems.

Although the article states that transmission of MRSA between pets and people is rarely documented, I have had two clients who have suffered from MRSA infections along with their pets. The risk is real.

Does this mean that pets may be the source of a new superinfection that poses a threat to us all? I don’t think so.

It appears that most people contract MRSA in hospitals or medical facilities, and then pass the bacteria on to their pet.

From the article:

“I think the woman infected the cat and the cat had it and might have reinfected the woman,” Sing [a microbiologist at the Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority in Oberschleissheim near Munich] said in an interview.

As I have mentioned before, healthy pets are very unlikely to spread disease to human beings. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control goes out of its way to point out that healthy pets pose minimal risk to people, evn those with compromised immune systems.

However all people with pets should exercise common sense. Keep your pet clean, healthy and free of parasites such as fleas and intestinal worms. Practice good hygiene. If your pet develops a rash or any illness, take it to the vet.

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See related Vet Blog entries:

• Can Pets and People Share “Superbugs”?
• How is Ringworm Diagnosed?
• Pets and people can share diseases: part two