Home
News
last update:May 7, 2008
Tests find MRSA bacteria in German piggeries
The Methicilin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) bacteria, also known
as 'hospital bacteria', is also prevalent on German farm pigs, German health
officials announced this week.
MRSA was found in 28 out of 40 of the pig farms checked in North Rhine
Westphalia state, the state farm services bureau in Bonn said.
The
bacteria was found in about 70% of the animals; the infected pigs were healthy.
Revelations in the Netherlands
Tests were ordered after it was
discovered that the germs are widespread in Dutch piggeries, as early as 2003.
Ever since, similar tests to MRSA in piggeries have also been performed in
Belgium, the UK and Canada.
German federal health officials advised that
consumers should cook pork thoroughly to avoid possible
infections.
Documentary
MRSA, a problem in hospitals around the
globe, was first detected in animals in 1972. A PlusMinus documentary on
MRSA, to be broadcasted this week in Germany, says 35,000 patients catch the
bacteria every year in German hospitals. Approximately 1,500 die of
it.
Ordinary staphylococcus bacteria are found on most people's skin. It
usually only causes sores and other illnesses when immunity is low.
The
documentary said 39 of 122 farm workers in one sample had caught the resistant
form, possibly from the pigs. Methicillin resistance arises when some of the
toughest bacteria survive courses of antibiotics administered to humans or
animals.
Related website:
• PlusMinus (in
German)
Click here to receive the latest Pig
Progress free newsletter
Editor PigProgress
To comment, login here
Or register to be able to comment.