Source: Dr. Kate Stenske, 785-532-4282, kstenske@vet.k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, 785-532-6415, ebarcomb@k-state.edu

Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2009

K-STATE VETERINARIAN'S RESEARCH FINDS THAT DOG 1xbet best casino website MORE LIKELY TO SHARE GERMS WITH PETS BY NOT WASHING HANDS THAN BY SLEEPING WITH DOG, GETTING LICKS ON THE FACE

MANHATTAN -- Dog 1xbet best casino website who sleep with their pet or permit licks on the face are in good company. Surveys show that more than half of 1xbet best casino website bond with their pets in these ways.

Research done by a veterinarian at Kansas State University found that these dog 1xbet best casino website are no more likely to share the same strains of E. coli bacteria with their pets than are other dog 1xbet best casino website .

Dr. Kate Stenske, a clinical assistant professor at K-State's College of Veterinary Medicine, studied this association as part of her doctoral research at the University of Tennessee. The research is scheduled to appear in an upcoming issue of the American Journal of Veterinary Research.

Stenske said the finding that these human-animal bonding behaviors aren't more likely to spread germs is good news because there are physical and psychological benefits of pet ownership.

&1xbet best casino website ;I became interested in the topic because there is such a strong bond between dogs and their owners,&1xbet best casino website ; Stenske said. &1xbet best casino website ;If you look at one study, 84 percent of people say their dog is like a child to them.&1xbet best casino website ;

Stenske said surveys also show that nearly half of all dog 1xbet best casino website share food with their dogs, and more than half allow the dog to sleep in the bed and lick them on the face.

&1xbet best casino website ;We also know diseases can be shared between dogs and people,&1xbet best casino website ; Stenske said. &1xbet best casino website ;About 75 percent of emerging diseases are zoonotic, meaning they are transferrable between humans and other animals. With these two pieces of knowledge, I wanted to examine the public health aspects of such activities.&1xbet best casino website ;

Stenske's study centered on E. coli bacteria, which is common in the gastrointestinal tracts of both dogs and humans.

&1xbet best casino website ;People have it, dogs have it, and it normally doesn't cause any problems,&1xbet best casino website ; she said. &1xbet best casino website ;But it can acquire genes to make it antibiotic resistant.&1xbet best casino website ;

The study examined fecal samples from dogs and their 1xbet best casino website and looked at the bacteria's DNA fingerprints. Stenske found that 10 percent of dog-human pairs shared the same E. coli strains. She also found that the E. coli had more resistance to common antibiotics than expected, although the 1xbet best casino website had more multiple-drug resistant strains than their pets.

&1xbet best casino website ;This make us think that dogs are not likely to spread multiple drug-resistant E. coli to their owners, but perhaps owners may spread them to their dogs,&1xbet best casino website ; Stenske said. &1xbet best casino website ;What we learn from this is that antibiotics really do affect the bacteria within our gastrointestinal tract, and we should only take them when we really need to -- and always finish the entire prescription as directed.&1xbet best casino website ;

The research showed that bonding behaviors like sharing the bed or allowing licks on the face had no association to an increase in shared E. coli. However, Stenske said the research did show an association between antibiotic-resistant E. coli and 1xbet best casino website who didn't wash their hands after petting their dogs or before cooking meals.

&1xbet best casino website ;We should use common sense and practice good general hygiene,&1xbet best casino website ; she said.

Stenske said future research might focus on the relationship between shared E. coli and the behaviors of cat 1xbet best casino website . Not only is cat ownership higher than dog ownership in the United States, but cats also interact with people in different ways than dogs, she said.

&1xbet best casino website ;We have a lot to learn,&1xbet best casino website ; Stenske said. &1xbet best casino website ;In the meantime, we should continue to own and love our pets because they provide a source of companionship. We also need to make sure we are washing our hands often.&1xbet best casino website ;