Stubborn Case of MRSA? What Up With Kitty?

In tomorrow's issue of the NEJM, German investigators report the transmission of a virulent isolate of CA-MRSA* among a woman with persistent, multiple abscesses, her asymptomatic family, and their pet cat.

When the woman remained MRSA positive—despite the fact that family members had become MRSA negative after decolonizing treatment—someone got the bright idea of screening the healthy-appearing family cats. Turns out a pharyngeal culture from one cat grew the identical CA-MRSA isolate, and the cat underwent topical therapy for decolonization. Thereafter, the patient's abscesses completely resolved.

The authors write that the original source of the infection (human or cat) remains unknown, although the identified CA-MRSA isolate is "extremely rare" in humans.

*Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

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