Joop from BNNVARA reports that pets are capable of transmitting antibiotic-resistant bacteria to humans.

Concerns about difficult-to-treat bacteria in dogs and cats are increasing. Especially now that it appears that those bacteria sometimes jump over to the owners. For example, pets can be a source of infection for vulnerable people, such as babies, the elderly and patients with a weakened immune system, warns German scientist Carolin Hackmann.

Her research of more than 2,800 hospitalized people shows that patients sometimes carry the same antibiotic-resistant bacteria as their pets. There was a clear overlap in four cases. A patient had a bacteria that was genetically identical to one found in his dog, writes The Guardian.

Infections caused by drug-resistant microbes cost approx 3,500 people life. They are therefore one of the leading causes of death.