A third of the farmers carried MRSA, and in all but four cases the strain was identified as ST398, say the researchers. Statistical analysis revealed “strong associations” between MRSA carriage and the time workers spent in contact with the animals as well as specific farming tasks, such as feeding the calves and giving them veterinary care.
Overall, almost 16% of the study participants, who lived and worked on veal calf farms, carried MRSA. By comparison, the prevalence of MRSA in the Dutch community is estimated to be 1%.
The prevalence of MRSA among the calves was almost double that of the people studied, with 28% of the 2150 calves tested found to be carrying the bug. Almost all these bacteria were of the ST398 strain, and MRSA was more often found in calves that had been treated with antibiotics.
“This is the strongest evidence of a direct relationship between antibiotic use in animals and transfer of antimicrobial resistant organisms to humans at present,” write Graveland and colleagues.
via News.
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