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
