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I watched my dog die from MRSA
By Clair Weaver, Evening Standard Last updated at 00:00am on 18.10.04For Jill Moss, it was bad enough losing the dog she loved. Even more traumatic was watching Bella, a Samoyed, become the first known animal to die from an infection caused by the MRSA superbug.
It has since emerged Ms Moss has also contracted the bacteria. The 34-year-old actress said: "It was heartbreaking watching my dog suffer so. I didn't know dogs could get MRSA. It spread like wildfire through her body and took over her vital organs."
She believes she caught MRSA from Bella. Such cross-contamination is virtually unheard of in the UK and experts are warning vets and pet owners to be extra vigilant.
Miss Moss's partner, Captain Norman Lees, a former Navy pilot who flew helicopters with Prince Andrew in the Falklands, died in a Battle of Britain Spitfire when it crashed in West Sussex four years ago.
Ms Moss said: "It's really tragic that I have lost the two closest to me in absolutely terrible circumstances." She believes she contracted the infection through an open sore on her foot while caring for Bella. MRSA was diagnosed, and she is now on antibiotics. "Luckily I am only carrying the infection so hopefully that will be enough to prevent it taking hold."
Bella, 10, was chasing a squirrel when she tore her cruciate ligament, and had surgery at MediVet in Hendon. A week later, her wound became infected and burst open. Ms Moss, of Edgware, Middlesex, said: "She was transferred to an orthopaedic hospital, where MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus) was diagnosed. They had to re-open her knee and take everything out."
Bella was transferred back to Medi-Vet, but on 23 August the dog had to be put down. Ms Moss is now calling for tighter guidelines for vets' practices, and is launching a campaign to raise awareness.
Experts say the danger of people catching MRSA from their animals is minimal. David Lloyd, professor of dermatology at the Royal Veterinary College, first documented MRSA in animals in 1999 - but all recovered.
Arnold Levy, a partner at MediVet, said: "This is the first case of MRSA we know of where a pet has died." He said the claim that Bella picked up MRSA at the surgery was "not founded on any scientific basis", and there was no evidence to support it. He also denied claims that nurses refused to treat Bella.
