MRSA isolated in piglets in eastern England

The isolation of livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) from piglets in eastern England has been reported.
According to Veterinary Record, two 10-day old piglets with skin lesions were submitted to an AOHA veterinary investigation center on December 30, 2014. Eleven litters were affected, and six of 60 piglets with the condition died.
The British Veterinary Association (BVA) and Pig Veterinary Society (PVS) in a joint statement said while there is no official requirement to test for MRSA, the British pig industry is actively promoting testing of live pig imports or the herds from which they derive.
“With the movement of different livestock species and humans between the U.K. and countries with high prevalence of LA-MRSA, it is disappointing but perhaps not surprising to have detected LA-MRSA in pigs in England,” the organizations stated.
“Some media reports have speculated about the infectivity of the organism. An opportunist infection of the skin or other sites in MSRA-colonized animals is a recognized occurrence and does not, in itself, imply that LA-MRSA has greater infectivity. It is also worth noting that while antimicrobial use has played a role in the emergence of MRSA, its subsequent spread relates mainly to it being a successful bacterial species, not to antimicrobial use. LA-MRSA has been found in animals in which no antimicrobials have been used.”
Public Health England has advised that LA-MRSA represents a very low risk to public health because this type of MRSA rarely causes disease in humans.

MRSA in Danish pigs increasing, says study

Although the number of MRSA-positive pig herds is on a par with 2010 levels, significantly more pigs at slaughter were found to be infected with pig MRSA, and the number of people infected with the bacteria is increasing, according to a Danish surveillance report, DANMAP, for 2011.
MRSA bacteria are resistant to antimicrobial agents that are essential to treating life-threatening infections in humans. The number of people diagnosed with MRSA continues to rise, but compared with other countries, Denmark still experiences a low occurrence of infections caused by MRSA bacteria.
In 2011, the occurrence of MRSA was studied in approximately 80 pig farms and about 800 pigs and 180 cattle in slaughterhouses. MRSA was not found in cattle, but in 16 percent of pig herds, which was the same level as in 2010.
Approximately 44 percent of the pigs tested positive for MRSA at slaughter, which was higher than in 2009, when the last survey of pigs in slaughterhouses was conducted. This suggests that there was a higher occurrence in the positive herds than previously which means that MRSA more frequently was transmitted between pigs during transport and before slaughter.
The number of people infected with MRSA of the so-called pig type, CC398, increased from 109 in 2010 to 164 in 2011. MRSA CC398 constituted 12.5 percent of all MRSA cases in 2011. The vast majority of new cases were still seen in persons in direct contact with pigs.
"We need to prevent increasing occurrence of MRSA in pigs because we have a large pig production in Denmark and pigs are the main source of MRSA CC398", says Yvonne Agersø, Senior Researcher at the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark.
As a consequence of the increasing occurrence of MRSA CC398 contact with live pigs is now included as a risk factor in the revised MRSA guideline for healthcare professionals which will be published this autumn.
"The continued increase of community acquired MRSA and the increasing occurrence in agriculture should be taken seriously and combated as it could otherwise lead to increased hospital incidence. The fact that contact with live pigs is added as a risk factor in the revised MRSA guideline and is an important step in the right direction", says Robert Skov. 

EU survey reports on MRSA in pigs

The European Food Safety Authority has published the first EU-wide survey on MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcusaureus) in breeding pigs. The results indicate that MRSA, a bacterium resistant to many antibiotics, is commonly detected in holdings with breeding pigs in some EU member states.
The survey provides estimates of its occurrence and makes recommendations for further monitoring of pig holdings in the EU.
The survey was carried out in 24 member states, 17 of which found some type of MRSA in their holdings with breeding pigs, and seven found none at all. On average, different types of MRSA were found in one out of four holdings with breeding pigs across the EU, but the survey also says that figures vary greatly between member states. MRSA ST398 was the most reported type of MRSA among the holdings with breeding pigs in the EU; some member states also reported other types, but their prevalence was much lower.
MRSA is a major concern for public health, and its various types are recognized as an important cause of hospital-acquired infections in humans. The specific type MRSA ST398 has been identified in some domestic animals and is considered an occupational health risk for farmers, veterinarians and their families, who may become exposed to it through direct or indirect contact with these animals.

The import of weaners could bring a new strain of MRSA into the UK

A new, multi-million pound programme to improve the health status of Britain’s pigs could be threatened by unrestricted trade in weaners from other EU countries, warns the leader of the country’s National Pig Association.
”We have just launched this project in Yorkshire and hope to roll it out across the whole country soon. Our producers will be working together in clusters on destock and mass vaccination schemes, which is a big task. We cannot afford to let this work be jeopardised by the import of a few weaners which may bring new diseases to this island nation from mainland Europe just for the sake of a few quick bucks,” said NPA director Stewart Houston.
The NPA was particularly concerned about the growing trade in imported weaners bringing a new strain of MRSA into the UK. It is reported that nearly 40% of the Dutch pigs have the MRSA ST398, which has not been seen in Britain yet, although it is said to be widespread in other European pig herds.
Houston said: “My personal belief is that the weaner trade is untenable, because of the serious risk of disease spread. I certainly couldn’t build up any sound business plan that relied on it.
“We would rather it did not happen, but if it has to continue, we want to find a voluntary way to regulate it.”
He said the NPA was already talking to producers and exporters in other EU countries in an effort to find a solution in the near future.