What if the key to fighting some of the dreaded antibiotic resistance was in your cat? Specifically, in other bacteria present in its microbiota. This is what a team of scientists from the University of California San Diego in a study, published in eLife.
It is true that it has been carried out in mice (without putting them in contact with cats, of course), but they trust it to be extrapolated to humans. After all, it appears that these beneficial bacteria have the potential to attack others, for which a antibiotic in common use against them no longer has anything to do.
Now, does this mean that if we are sick it is enough for us to let ourselves be licked by our cat? No, the truth is that things do not work that way. What more would we want.
Cat Bacteria vs. Superbugs: Fight!
Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is a opportunistic bacteria It mainly affects domestic animals, but also humans. The fact that you are opportunistic means that you take advantage of a moment of weakness, such as an injury or any other illness, to proliferate uncontrollably, causing from otitis to conjunctivitis, through urinary tract or skin infections. Precisely because it takes advantage of these weak points, the cases that have been seen of infections from pets to humans have been mainly in diabetic or immunosuppressed people.
And precisely because the immune system of these people is so compromised, it is important to fight the infection in time. To do this, the antibiotic was usually used methicillin. However, as has happened with so many other bacteria and antibioticsOver time, it has ended up generating resistance to this drug, which was the one that most effectively fought it.
That is why it is so interesting what these scientists have seen with a study in which they cultivated this bacterium together with several different bacteria, extracted from the microbiota of dogs and cats. Remember that the microbiota is the set of microbes that normally inhabit a healthy organism.
In this case, it was a bacterium from the cat microbiota that was shown to be effective against Staphylococcus pseudintermedius methicillin resistant (MRSP for its acronym in English). It was another staph: Staphylococcus felis.
Cultivated alongside her, colonies of MRSP they stopped growing. It could therefore be a candidate for combat antibiotic resistance. At least this and this bacteria. But it was necessary to continue investigating.
Mouse experiments
They then tried to infect with MRSP a group of mice, and then put them in contact with S. felis. This reduced the symptoms of the skin infection caused by the resistant bacteria, reducing the redness and size of the lesions. In addition, when performing skin cultures they found fewer viable bacteria.
Further analysis showed that S. felis produces four different antimicrobial peptides, which results in the destruction of the cellular wall that bacteria need to stay viable. It could be said, broadly speaking, that they attack the fortress from four sides and thus manage to break down its walls.
Although this has so far only been seen in mice, in a release of their University, the study authors have explained that they trust that it can be extrapolate to humans. In fact, they comment that it could be that people who live with a healthy cat have some protection against this type of infection caused by bacteria with resistance to antibiotics.
It is very important that the cat is healthy
With regard to the latter, it is important to emphasize two points. One is to have a cat it won’t necessarily save us from getting sick, so it’s not a good idea to have him continually lick our faces just in case. In fact, the skin in that area is very delicate, so it could be an entry zone for possible bacteria present in the animal’s saliva.
This raises the second question: it is important that the cat is healthy. Cats can have bacteria that are very effective in fighting antibiotic resistance, but they can also transmit other diseases. The most common is toxoplasmosis, which is generally not dangerous for humans, but it is dangerous for pregnant women or immunosuppressed patients.
In addition, they can transmit pathogenic bacteria (toxoplasmosis is transmitted by a protozoan), such as Bartonella henselae. It is usually passed to humans by scratches and bites from cats and generally causes skin infections, but also endocarditis and symptoms associated with the liver and spleen, among others. A case of a boy who developed a schizophrenic outbreak after contracting this infection has even been reported.
All this does not mean that we should not have a cat or that, if we do, we should not allow ourselves to be touched by it. They are wonderful pets, but we must make sure they are healthy. Mainly for them, of course. But also for us.
Other natural weapons against antibiotic resistance
Bacteria with antibiotic resistance they are an emerging problem, which is causing more and more deaths around the world. If nothing is done to prevent it, the situation will become even more worrying than it already is.
For this reason, in addition to raising awareness among the population so that they do not carry out practices that can promote these resistances, many scientists seek antimicrobial compounds hidden in nature. And there are not few. They have been observed in sources as diverse as tasmanian devil milk, the komodo dragon blood wave saliva of the Siberian brown bear.
Now we know that our feline friends could also have an interesting clue. More research still needs to be done; but, just in case, if you have cat go and thank him.