Page 3 of articles about MRSA

The MRSA bacterium, which is resistant to antibiotics, has spread rapidly in the past few years on pig farms. Extensive use of antibiotics is thought to help it spread, but reducing the use of antibiotics is not enough to eliminate MRSA on pig farms.

Drug-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus, a bacteria linked to a wide range of human diseases, are present in meat and poultry from U.S. grocery stores at unexpectedly high rates, according to a nationwide study by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).

One in ten pigs gets the MRSA bacterium in livestock transport trucks, while sixty percent of pigs in slaughterhouses have the bacterium. Wageningen University veterinary researcher Els Broens finds this 'very disconcerting'.

A European Union-wide survey was carried out to assess the prevalence and diversity of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in pig primary production and to provide information on potential factors associated with its prevalence. The survey distinguished between breeding holdings (holdings housing breeding pigs and delivering replacement breeding pigs to breeding holdings and production holdings) and production holdings with breeding pigs (holdings housing breeding pigs and producing mainly pigs for fattening or slaughter).

The aim of this project is to eliminate MRSA in pigs, or at least achieve a significant reduction in the level of colonisation, thus lowering or preventing the risk of human beings being infected. To achieve this, phage endolysins are over-produced in E. coli or Pichia pastoris. They are purified for use in the in vivo treatment of experimentally infected animals.

MRSA spreads throughout the Dutch intensive livestock farming sectors. Among pig farms, 68.3% of 202 farms tested positive for MRSA.