Yikes! MRSA Found in U.K. Milk: DNews Nugget
Dec 27, 2012 09:31
Lori Cuthbert
Yikes! MRSA Found in U.K. Milk: A new strain of dangerous antibiotic-resistant organism MRSA has been found in milk from five different farms in England, reports The Independent.
Tests of 1,500 milk samples turned up seven that were tainted with the new MRSA, a so-called super bug that causes severe infections in humans.
It's thought that the widespread use of antibiotics in dairy herds to prevent udder infections is behind the new MRSA strain, MRSA ST398, the paper says.
U.K. farmers are pressured by supermarket chains to produce milk, resulting in overcrowded farms, where a sickness can sweep through an entire herd.
The new bacterial strain doesn't pose a risk to consumers because the milk is pasteurized, but it does threaten farm workers, veteranarians and abbatoir workers, who could spread the strain. via The Independent