What is a staphylococcal infection?
Staphylococcal infections can damage many parts of the dog’s body. The most common are skin infections, wounds or scratches, which allow bacteria to enter the body. Signs of staphylococcal infection usually include wound pus and red skin. If left untreated, severe staphylococcal infections can progress to sepsis and even death.
Other sites of staphylococcal infection include the heart, brain and spinal cord, kidneys and urinary system. These diseases usually have fever and weakness as the main symptoms. If your dog has a fever, looks unusually weak, and is accompanied by cuts or bruises. Then it is usually infected.
The bacteria in Staphylococcus aureus are widespread and most of them are harmless. However, a few species of Staphylococcus aureus can cause infections in mammalian wounds, which are called “staphylococcal infections.” The condition depends on the location of the infection, if it is on the chest and head. Then the health of the pet will be threatened.
Symptoms of staphylococcal infection in dogs
Pus on and around the wound
Redness and inflammation
fever
Weakness and lethargy
Causes of Staphylococcus Infection in Dogs
Staphylococcus enters unprotected parts of the body directly, such as wounds, mucous membranes, eyes, mouth, and respiratory tract.
Diagnosis of staphylococcal infection
If the owner finds that their pet has a fever and appears weak and confused, they should suspect that your dog is infected.
If your pet’s wound is infected or an abscess causes pus, and the surrounding area is red and painful, it is usually a staph infection. Wound swabs can be sent to the laboratory for culture to determine the cause, but in most cases this is not necessary, because almost every skin infection treatment is an antibiotic ointment used on the wound (or by mouth).
Staphylococcus aureus can also be responsible for infection of almost every major organ. Urinary tract infections are usually caused by staphylococci and are accompanied by painful urination, hematuria and cloudy urine, discoloration or foul smell. A urine sample can usually be tested to determine whether it is caused by a staph infection.
In rare cases, staphylococci can infect the discs between the vertebrae in the spine and/or between the bones themselves.
Treatment of staphylococcal infections
The main treatment for staphylococcal infections is antibiotics. In the case of skin infections, antibiotic creams are likely to be used, and antibiotics may be taken by mouth to prevent the infection from spreading internally.
Topical ointment should be used until the wound heals, and a full course of oral antibiotics should be taken to avoid the possibility of re-infection.
