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*site banned* SPAMMER   FL, USA
87 Posts
I have worked closely with Dr. Santiago Diaz at Broward Avian and Exotic Animal Hospital, Dr. Erica Whittall at TLC Animal Hospital and Cora Holt, another member of the Glider Community and a Nurse who has extensive experience working with and around MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus). I have also worked with MRSA, when my Stella Luna became sick back in November of 2011 and again in May of 2012. Please note, Stella Luna had a pre - existing condition, an open wound that had become infected with MRSA.
MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus is not a virus, it is a bacteria - a strain of staphylococcus (staph infection) that has become increasingly difficult to "treat," as it is resistant to the antibiotics that would be used with a typical "staph infection" (beta - lactam antibiotics, including penicillins). What most people don't know, is just how prevalent MRSA is - it is found everywhere. But, just because it is present does not mean that you are at risk for infection, in fact, studies have shown that 25% - 30% of the general population are carriers of colonized MRSA (when colonized, MRSA is not dangerous - it only becomes dangerous to those who are infected (those with a pre - existing condition which would cause them to have a weakened immune system, such as diabetes or an open wound). 1
Performing a culture to test for MRSA would be essentially useless. For instance, if you were to "swab" the counter at a local hospital or the examination table at a veterinary clinic, you would find colonized MRSA. 2 Additionally, a recent study by the Center For Disease Control and Prevention has shown that those who work with and around animals, are at a much higher risk for spreading MRSA... Just think, one in every six veterinary technicians is a "carrier" and the bacteria is contagious, it is easily spread through skin - to - skin contact. 3 The bacteria is all around us, but it is not as dangerous as you think it is.
On a side note, did you know that E. Coli (Escherichia Coli), another "dangerous" bacteria, is found in up to 90% of veterinary clinics and clostridium difficile (a bacteria that causes diarrhea and may lead to colitis) is evident in another 50%? 4
Want to do more research? I've found the following sources to be helpful. =)
1. WebMD - Online Medical Dictionary
2. Dr. Santiago Diaz, DVM, Broward Avian and Exotic Animal Hospital
3. Center For Disease Control and Prevention
4. Eric Anthony Lutz, M.S. - "Human and Animal Exposure to Airborne Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA): Laboratory Evaluations and Veterinary Hospital Pilot Study"
petluv15 Fuzzy Wuzzy   1500 Posts As someone who has had repeated Culture & Sensitivities done on my gliders a couple months ago, I would like to say that MRSA should NOT be seen in healthy individuals. While it may occur in the environment, at hospitals, etc. and some people may be carriers for it, that does NOT mean it shouldn't be taken VERY seriously. When my gliders were being tested(I had several with wounds that were not healing), NO GLIDERS went outside my house except to the vet. No new gliders were brought in until we figured out the cause. I had swaps of wounds, fecals, & mouths done - in my case, it was a fairly antibiotic resistent strain of Enerococcus that is found in their gut(and all probiotics) in an unbalanced way, probably initially "triggered" by the stress of intros & moving. A round of the proper antibiotics along with probiotics & some extra vitamins(temporarily to boost their immune system) & we haven't had an issue...NOT ONE showed positive for MRSA. Healthy animals should NOT! Cultures may show low levels of gut bacteria because of their grooming habits, but even healthy individuals can generally fight those off when they get a wound with proper care. Unfortunately, you have a glider that has had MRSA show up at least twice and another case in Sheila who had her arm removed - your home needs to be close up because Stella has NOT been quarantined since 2011. Its not a bacteria to mess with. You don't know what individuals your items or gliders(who likely are carriers for it by this point) who may have weaker immune systems and get put at risk. MRSA needs be taken very seriously and you should be doing your best to keep it at home. Chris R Glider 119 Posts ABSOLUTELY calling BULLCHIT! there are many many many strains of MRSA and to state that a culture being un-necessary is absolutely RIDICULOUS and showing how unknowledgeable you are and trying to cover up for YOUR FAILURES and trying to lighten something that should NOT be taken lightly..I LOST my father to a relatively "minor" strain of MRSA so dont YOU DARE to come in and try to make yourself out to be some sort of EXPERT on it, when you are NOTHING but a lying, scamming little TWIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1 a culture would be able to identify exactly which strain of MRSA you have 2. following that up with a sensitivity would show exactly what antibiotic that particular strain does not have resistances to ie the most effective antibiotic for treatment PERIOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Chris R Glider 119 Posts Oh and colonied carriers ...ARE carriers, meaning they are not affected by the colonization but they CAN AND WILL be able to spread that strain to someone that is subseptable to it (ie old, infirmed, people with immune deficiencies).... Which in my fathers case, was his wife, who is an RN!!! Here she is to defend herself LOL Lauren you seriously need to get out of breeding you RESCUE gliders, yes she is breeding UNLNEAGED RESCUES (now she will defend herself and say the word "rescue" is to drawn out.....please hunny you are only make it worse for yourself, crawl back into the woodwork you came out of. quote:
Originally posted by Candy
quote:
that has become increasingly difficult to "treat," as it is resistant to the antibiotics that would be used with a typical "staph infection" (beta - lactam antibiotics, including penicillins).
....... And yet YOU claimed that YOUR VET treated these MRSA infections successfully with PENICILLIN.
Yes MRSA has become more common, yes it may be difficult to avoid it during our ordinary daily activities BUT NO ONE wants knowingly bring a pet that is more than likely a carrier into their home.
There may be an individual that will CHOOSE to deal with you knowing the probability that they are exposing themselves and their family members to a potential MRSA infection. I doubt you will find that individual here.
By NOT INFORMING anyone buying gliders or glider supplies from you that you have very recently dealt with two recent ACTIVE MRSA INFECTIONS - you would be RESPONSIBLE for any MRSA infections that resulted from your failure to advise your buyers.
A responsible ADULT would not make light of this problem.
*Standing Ovation*
viciousencounters Goofy Gorillatoes  NM, USA 2907 Posts Staphylococcus Aureus is a common bacteria. It is part of the natural flora of humans/other animals. Its troubles lie in that it is an opportunistic bacteria, this is why Staph infections occur after surgeries, open wounds, or hospital stays. Due to the misuse of antibiotics many bacteria are becoming resistant to medicines that previously ridded them, becoming known as superbugs or multiple drug resistant. Staph. Aureus is just another of the bacteria that is going through natural selection before our eyes. Through natural selection MRSA is winning the race and current medicines have trouble treating this strain. It is true that it is all around us, many people we interact with daily or when we touch things others have touched may have been carrying it as part of their normal flora. It is also true that an infection of MRSA is a very serious matter as it is hard to treat and traditional medicines used to treat normal strains of Staph. Aureus should not be used to treat the MRSA. I do hope your vet hasn't been trying the same medicines over and over again without taking a culture for sensitivity testing [This is a very serious test, it is not useless]. Those with open wounds or compromised immune systems should be weary of places [Hospitals] or in this case animals that are known to carry MRSA. If you have gliders with the strain and you are selling them it would be very good to inform owners. This way they can quickly clean any scratches or bites with some hydrogen peroxide (as I read somewhere this is effective against MRSA) and to watch the wound closely. They will also know that they should not interact with the glider when they have a large open wound or are sick. Gliders can also carry other bacteria and protist without notice such as giardia, coccidiosis, various worms, trichomonas, pasteurella, etc. Am I missing something here? I suppose I am confused at the purpose of all this commotion. If it is true you are trying to down play current infections you have then this is very wrong and dangerous for your gliders but it is also childish for everyone to pretend that other normal glider owners who haven't had a mating wound or surgery do not have gliders with normal MRSA flora or they themselves don't. 
This is a plate of Staph. Aureus I made the other day in class, the largest clearing belongs to Penicillin but I guess that Penicillin is ineffective at treating MRSA adding to it's danger. Chris R Glider 119 Posts LOVEDDDD microbiology and labs.... You should have seen the things we grew, weird things like cat mouth vs dog mouth vs human mouth (that had just came back from a dental cleaning) betcha can guess what grew the most bacteria!!... I have a totally morbid sense of humor, My best friend and I made earrings out of our first puppy tail dockings (in a dream catcher style instead of feather hanging from the bottom it was tails) LOL.... another time, Steve (the head primate handler) came to ask a question while all of us vet clinic staff were busy doing neuters in the petting zoo, he passed out cold when he realised what we were doing, so for Christmas that year, we "gifted" him with a gallon jar full of testicles in formaldahyde from all the neuters done for the rest of the year at the park LOL Chris R Glider 119 Posts Darlene and I were the most "hands on/outgoing" of my graduating class. You should have seen how excited we were to get our hands on an aborted horse fetus and disect it!! She was my partner in crime with the earring making and how I met my husband (weve been together 24 years 4 months now). I was the only one to pass the pharmacology finals first time around and she had talked me into leading a study session at her house, before they all re-tested, hubby crashed the study session thinking it was a party because of all the cars parked outside (Darlene being a good friend of his as she was dating another friend of his) LOL..also how I got my start in research as I was farmed out to the local majave desert land conservation vet for two weeks (during the desert land tortoise upper respiratory infections (mycoplasms) that was threatening the species) and we "hit it off" and I got a job out of it, while they were forced to do quick rehash of pharmacology because if you didnt pass it, you did not graduate and would have to take the whole course over the next fall (which of course the college wouldnt do because of financial aide and the numbers they need to keep for it)... Dr Laurie Gage was the reason why we saved all the testicles for Steve's gag gift, Loved that woman!!! We were all females in the vet clinic/baby animal nursery, so we were happy to go along with and even add to it with "off park" nueters LOL *site banned* SPAMMER FL, USA 87 Posts I have been working, and have not had the chance to check and update this thread - thank you all for the input, and thank you VE, the post you made was very informative. I do want to correct a mistake that I had written. When Stella Luna got sick (back in 2011/2012), we DID NOT treat with Penicillin (though we did use it before we knew what the infection was)... I went back to look at the paperwork and I discovered that we actually used an antibiotic called Sulfadiazine - I believe that is the one we found to be effective as the culture performed after treatment with it was clean. Also, I want to confirm what Val has stated - I DID self - diagnosis Sheila. When Sheila got hurt, it looked very similar to Stella... But had I not been freaking out, I probably would have noticed the difference. I should have waited until I had calmed down to post about it, it probably would have saved me some trouble. Sheila had an injury that led to an arm amputation, due to infection - but my veterinarian also confirmed that it was NOT MRSA (I was afraid it would still have the chance of spreading to the rest of her body). Sheila has since recovered and is doing wonderful, she has been back for a recheck and my veterinarian is thrilled with her progress. :) Stella Luna is the only Sugar Glider I own that has ever been diagnosed with MRSA and she has been cultured both before and after treatment, she is now clean.
Some photos from our members Chris R Glider 119 Posts Cora, there are absolutely different strains of MRSA, they are all MRSA yes, but some are even more virulent than others.. There are even a few strains now that are resistant to the best/newest antibiotics we have out there... Thats what so scary about it, unless you kill them all, the survivors "offspring" are now resistant to that antibiotic. Why its so important to take the whole course of antibiotics even if you are feeling better! Chris R Glider 119 Posts Strains that are resistant are all LUMPED into the MRSA catagory but there are still different STRAINS of it... www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/new-mrsa-superbug-strain-found-in-uk-milk-supply-8431187.html
from your link....Strains unable to resist these antibiotics are classified as methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus, or MSSA. The evolution of such resistance does not cause the organism to be more intrinsically virulent than strains of Staphylococcus aureus ... again note its says STRAINS Look at the lastest bird flu outbreak in China... Its still and H and N but instead of H1N1 its a NEW strain that before now only infected birds but has jumped over to people (chickens/fowl) its H7N9... which again is NEW STRAIN *site banned* SPAMMER FL, USA 87 Posts quote:
Originally posted by Anonymous
Here she is to defend herself LOL Lauren you seriously need to get out of breeding you RESCUE gliders, yes she is breeding UNLNEAGED RESCUES (now she will defend herself and say the word "rescue" is to drawn out.....please hunny you are only make it worse for yourself, crawl back into the woodwork you came out of.
I have decided to adopt out the only breeding pair that I have who does not have lineage. I took them in from a woman in West Palm Beach, Florida, who couldn't provide them with the attention they deserved. Although, they were spoiled rotten... she believed they deserved more, and that's when they came to live with me. When they came to my home, Kahlua had two babies in pouch that were almost ready to come out - they came out of pouch shortly after I brought them home (a week or so). I kept Kahlua and Bailey until the little boy was weaned... I did adopt him out to a local veterinary technician, I did not charge an adoption fee. I decided it would be best to also rehome Kahlua and Bailey and focus on breeding for healthy, sweet and beautiful Gliders with excellent lineage - especially if I want to improve my reputation. Kahlua and Bailey will be going to their new home on Sunday with a woman named Shannon who has had Gliders before. Shannon will be signing a contract stating that Bailey will be neutered as soon as Kahlua's baby comes out of pouch (she has one in pouch now). She will be required to fax me evidence of the neuter. Colony 1: Breeding Willow - Leucistic Female ("Willow - Sugar Shock" on TPG) **Currently in search of a mate to pair with Willow** Colony 2: Breeding Fiona - White Faced Creme-ino Female ("Fiona - Sugar Shock" on TPG) Fiorello - White Faced Blonde, 100% Creme-ino Het, 50% Leucistic Het ("Fiorello - Sugar Shock" on TPG) **These two have not produced since 10/2011, but we are hoping that they will in the future.** Colony 3: Non - Breeding Sheila - Standard Gray Female Bandit - Neutered (Documented Evidence Of Neuter Available) Colony 4: Non - Breeding Bindi - Standard Gray Female Colony 5: Non - Breeding Aussie - White Faced Blonde, Platinum Het, Neutered (Documented Evidence Of Neuter Available) Gizmo - White Faced Blonde, Platinum Het, Neutered (Documented Evidence Of Neuter Available) Scooter - White Faced Blonde, Platinum Het, Neutered (Documented Evidence Of Neuter Available) Hennessy - Standard Gray Male, Neutered (Documented Evidence Of Neuter Available) Stella Luna - White Faced Female (No Lineage, Non - Breeding) TigerLily - White Faced Female, 50% Creme-ino Het (Lineage Available Upon Request, Non - Breeding) *site banned* SPAMMER FL, USA 87 Posts Okay, so should I set up an appointment for this week and neuter him before he goes to his new home on Sunday? I have to go see Dr. Diaz regardless, as I need advice regarding my pair (I will probably start a thread here too on that). I didn't know if neutering him now would stress Kahlua out too much (having to be separated from him). I didn't want to risk her pulling the baby, but I see what you mean. Thank you.
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