MRSA Present in Milk Samples in Britain

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control announced that an analysis of milk samples in Britain revealed the presence of MRSA bug which indicates the superbug is spreading through the livestock population. Researchers at Cambridge University analyzed over 1,500 milk samples and found that the superbug, known as MRSA ST398, was present in seven samples collected from five different farms in England.

Experts said that while there is no danger posed to the general population as long as the milk is pasteurized, vets and farm workers are at risk of contracting the bug and passing it on to others. Lead researcher Mark Holmes said that his team first identified the presence of MRSA in milk back in 2011 but was told by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [Defra] that there was no MRSA in the dairy industry.

“This is definitely a worsening situation. In 2011 when we first found MRSA in farm animals, Defra initially didn’t believe it. They said we don’t have MRSA in the dairy industry in this country. Now we definitely have MRSA in livestock. What is curious is that it has turned up in dairy cows when in other countries on the Continent it is principally in pigs. Could it be in pigs or poultry in this country? We don’t know”, he said.



Source-Medindia