MRSA superbug widespread in pigs
The antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is widespread among both pigs and pig farmers in Canada, Natural news has reported.
A study published in the journal “Veterinary Microbiology,” suggests that the
livestock industry is a possible source of the
disease.
Tests
Researchers examined 258 pigs on 20
farms in Ontario, and also tested the workers on those farms. They found that 45
percent of farms, 25 percent of pigs and 20 percent of farmers were infected
with MRSA, which is substantially higher than the rate of infection in the
general North American population.
Among the MRSA strains found on the
pig farms was one that has commonly infected humans in Canada and one that has
been associated with serious skin, breast and heart infections in
Europe.
Antibiotic resistance
The study has added
weight to claims that antibiotic use in livestock farming may have led to the
development of antibiotic resistance in human diseases. Consumer health advocate
Mike Adams said that commercial raising of livestock for food is fraught with
the potential for microbiological disaster.
“When we raise pigs, cows,
chickens or other animals in artificial, enclosed, indoor environments, we are
practically begging to be threatened by out-of-control superbugs that breed in
such conditions,” Adams said.
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