Natural preventative pet care isn’t new, but it’s certainly not completely mainstream yet. One of the challenges is being able to retrain the public to think outside the box. For so many years, traditional care providers have told us over and over again that our pets need annual vaccinations, heartworm, flea and tick prevention medications, and premium kibble feeds. We have been told that all this will lead to the maximum well-being of our pets. Could not be farther from the truth.

As we continue to strive to conquer the mountain of “alternative care is for the new age, crystal-bearing, hippie-singing,” our pets are getting sicker instead of healthy. One of the most challenging problems on the rise is super-resistant bacteria that are increasingly resistant to traditional antibiotic use. Most notable is the increase in MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). This is a staph infection that the antibiotic methicillin can no longer kill. MRSA is transmitted from humans to pets and is still mutating into strains in different species of animals. Horses have developed their own strain and antibiotics are not the answer! In fact, overuse of antibiotics is part of the main reason these bacteria have mutated and evolved.

This staph infection is deadly and can and does kill humans and animals. In fact, the same thing happened to Jill Moss’s most beloved white Samoyed, Bella. Jill lost Bella to this staph infection a little over a year ago. She got Jill to take serious action and bring awareness of this deadly strain of bacteria to the world so that other pet owners and people wouldn’t have to suffer the loss that she did. Jill has instituted the Bella Moss and Pets-MRSA Foundation to help bring not only awareness about MRSA, but also hope, help and healing.

Research has already begun to find ways to stop these virulent bacteria. Scientists at the University of Manchester in England have discovered that three essential oils destroyed MRSA! Dr. Peter Warn, who was involved in the research, told the BBC (British Broadcasting Company) in December 2004 that when he tested the oils in the laboratory, “absolutely nothing grew. Instead of stimulating bacteria and fungi, the oils killed off.”

A diligent product formulator for a therapeutic essential oil company discovered that two of the oils used were Melaleuca alternafolia and Geranium.

So why are essential oils proving so effective at killing even the most virulent bacteria like MRSA? According to Jacqui Stringer, clinical leader of complementary therapies at Christie Hospital in Manchester, England, who treats cancer patients, the reason essential oils are so effective is because they’re made from a complex mix of chemical compounds that superbugs like MRSA finds it difficult to resist. She would add that because these compounds are natural and derived from plants, the “blood” of plants, no two oils are exactly alike, which is the perfect complex compound to combat a mutant super bug! Current treatments, according to Stringer, are made up of single compounds (such as antibiotics), so MRSA becomes resistant very quickly, leaving only a 50% success rate for MRSA cases. She thinks about it: only a 50/50 chance of survival. Those are not good odds. Hope comes with this new alternative approach to combat these superbugs.

Another added benefit of using essential oils to combat and help prevent (prevention is the goal to stop MRSA) the spread of MRSA is application: directly inhaled or diffused. MRSA is often carried inside the nose, so inhaling the essential oils is all that is needed to keep patients from being at risk. This makes them very easy to administer to both humans and pets.

The biggest impediment to further research with essential oils and fighting these superbugs has been funding. In January 2005, the Manchester investigators were having trouble obtaining the £30,000 needed to continue their investigation. Shortly after learning of this, Jimmy Savile, the former presenter of the British TV show ‘Jim’ll Fix It’, has donated £40,000 to continue the investigation! As stated above, pharmaceutical companies aren’t really interested in helping with this type of work because they can’t benefit from a product that occurs naturally, as they can’t be patented.

This is truly reprehensible, as this type of research could help save thousands of lives and completely eradicate MRSA.

For my part, I am very excited to see more and more research being done to bring healing and hope to many, using what God created for us to use in the first place!

You can find the references for this article in my “Articles of Interest” on my website.

DISCLAIMER: The only oils we use and refer to in ALL articles are Young Living essential oils. We do NOT use any other brand names and make no representations about the use of Essential over other brands.