Impact of Pet Ownership on SA/MRSA Colonization in Children & Families

描述（由申请人提供）：虽然人类与伴侣动物的相互作用对健康有益，但人们越来越担心宠物可能成为“人畜共患病”细菌的储存库。在社区中，金黄色葡萄球菌（SA）和耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌（MRSA）感染代表了一个关键的和迅速增长的公共卫生问题。儿童是受MRSA影响的人口中增长最快的部分。然而，很少有科学研究直接涉及宠物狗是否在家庭层面的SA和MRSA传播中发挥重要作用。该项目的总体目标是通过测量SA和MRSA定植来确定宠物所有权对儿童的影响，这是感染过程的第一步。这项研究将：1）确定SA和MRSA定殖在具有宠物狗的儿童和家庭成员的基于社区的样品中的流行率，并将其与非宠物拥有的家庭成员的样品进行比较，2）检查特定类型的人-动物相互作用是否与定殖相关，以及3）检查从儿童、家庭成员、和他们的宠物狗使用分子方法（PFGE和SCCmec分型）。我们的跨学科团队将确定特定的人为因素，动物因素，社会环境（即，人与动物的相互作用），以及可能与增加的定殖风险相关的物理环境特征。鉴于越来越多的证据表明人与动物的互动对健康有益，未来的研究必须考虑养宠物的潜在健康风险，特别是在免疫功能受损而易受感染的儿童中。这项研究将有助于我们了解家中的宠物如何潜在地影响儿童的健康，并有助于确定降低SA和MRSA在家中传播风险的措施。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): While there are recognized health benefits from human interaction with companion animals, there is also increasing popular concern that pets can serve as reservoirs of "zoonotic" bacteria. In the community, Staphylococcus aureus (SA) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections represent a critical and rapidly growing public health issue. Children represent the fastest growing segment of the population affected by MRSA. However, few scientific studies have directly addressed whether pet dogs play an important role in the transmission of SA and MRSA at the household level. The overall aim of this project is to determine the impact of pet ownership on children by measuring SA and MRSA colonization which is the first step in the infectious process. This study will: 1) determine the prevalence of SA and MRSA colonization in a community-based sample of children and family members with pet dogs and compare this to a sample of non-pet owning household members, 2) examine whether specific types of human-animal interactions are associated with colonization, and 3) examine the relatedness of recovered strains from children, family members, and their pet dogs using molecular methods (PFGE and SCCmec typing). Our interdisciplinary team will identify specific human factors, animal factors, social environments (i.e., human-animal interactions), and physical environmental characteristics that may be associated with increased colonization risk. Given the increasing evidence of the health benefits of human-animal interaction, it is important for future studies to consider potential health risks f pet ownership - particularly among children who are susceptible to infection due to impaired immune function. This study will contribute to our knowledge of how pets in the home potentially impact children's health and could help identify measures which would reduce the risk of transmission of SA and MRSA in the home.