The research, published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, shows that poultry may be a source of human exposure to MRSA, a superbug which can cause serious infections and even death.
The study focuses on a special newly identified strain of MRSA associated with poultry.
MRSA is often found in chickens, pigs and other food animals. Researchers know that farmers, farm workers, veterinarians and others working directly with livestock are at risk of MRSA infections, however the study shows that people with no exposure to livestock are becoming colonized and infected with this new strain of poultry-associated MRSA -- most likely by eating or handling contaminated poultry meat.
This poultry-associated MRSA may be more capable of transmitting from food to people and as MRSA continues to evolve, it may spread from animals to people in new ways. Early research suggests that modern farming practices, that involve giving food animals low doses of antibiotics to spur their growth and compensate for overcrowding and unsanitary living conditions led to the rising tide of superbugs, like the new strain of MRSA identified in this study.
The fact that food inspectors don't typically test poultry and other food products for MRSA contamination and instead are focused on Salmonella and other more typical food-borne pathogens may be the reason why the link has remained undetected until now.
There is a need to expand the number of pathogens that are tested for in the food supply chain, and an urgent need for international bodies to enforce the ban on unnecessary use of antibiotics on industrial farms around the world.
The indiscriminate use of antibiotics in livestock must be abolished to prevent emergence of new, and more virulent strains of livestock-associated MRSA which will pose a much greater threat to human health.continue
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