MRSA can be passed through a pet bite

As if rescuers and critter foster parents didn't have enough to worry about, this article from HealthDay talks about increasing incidence of MRSA (you know, the antibiotic-resistant staph infection) occurring between people and pets.

"Pet owners are often unaware of the potential for transmission of life-threatening pathogens from their canine and feline companions," Dr. Richard Oehler, of the University of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa, and colleagues wrote in the July issue of The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

In the end, researchers say the risk is relatively small, but present nonetheless.