Are Therapy Dogs a Zoonotic Risk?

As the human animal bond is increasingly recognized to contribute to people’s wellbeing, the therapeutic role of companion animals is increasingly exploited in healthcare, long term care and community settings. But… concerns related to theoretical zoonotic risks associated with dogs in health care settings often limit the therapy dog visits. Today Bev presented some of her post-doctoral work exploring the frequency of carriage of microbial hazards among therapy dogs in Saskatoon at the 2019 CACMID meeting in Ottawa. The good news, of the 38 dogs samples no MRSA! Stay tuned for Bev’s paper.

#therapydogs #Ecoli #Staphylococcuspseudintermedius #staphylococcus #antimicrobialresistance #zoonoses