A new study published in EMBO Molecular Medicine has established a definitive link between antibiotic-resistant bacteria in livestock and human beings. Several methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus auerus (MRSA) bacteria that carry a novel homologue have been found in livestock and in humans. The study states that "analysis revealed two distinct farm-specific clusters comprising isolates from the human case and their own livestock." This supports the likelihood of zoonotic transmission, or transmission between people and animals. This study confirms a study completed last year by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), which found that a strain of antibiotic-resistant MRSA developed that resistance in animals raised for food. That study stated that the bacteria starts in … [Read more...]
Definitive Link Confirms Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Move from Livestock to People
Congresswoman Louise Slaughter Queries Companies About Antibiotic Use
Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY) sent a letter last week to more than 60 fast food corporations, processors, producers, and grocery chains, asking them about their policies on antibiotic use in farm animals. She would like their response by June 15, 2012. Some of the corporations which received the letter include McDonald's, Kraft, Cargill, Costco, Whole Foods, YUM! Brands, Burger King, and Bon Appetit Management Company. Ms. Slaughter, who is a microbiologist, wants the companies to provide the number of beef, poultry, and pork products that are raised "without antibiotics", with "therapeutic antibiotic doses", and with "routine antibiotic use." She also wants to know if the companies educate their consumers about how their meat is produced and purchased. Her letter states, … [Read more...]
MRSA Probably Developed in Food Animals
According to a new study by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), a strain of the antibiotic-resistant bacteria MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) most likely developed that resistance in animals raised for food. The study, published in the online journal mBio, focused on MRSA CC398. This particular strain is also known as "pig-MRSA" because it infects people who have close contact to pigs and other food animals. MRSA CC398 is found in almost half of the meat products in the United States. The bacteria takes a convoluted evolutionary path to becoming antibiotic-resistant. First, the bacteria starts in humans as methicillin-susceptible-S. aureus. It makes the jump to animals. In animals, it becomes resistant to methicillin and tetracycline, most … [Read more...]
