London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

A number of meat products from British pigs have been shown to be infected with a livestock strain of MRSA, according to an investigation carried out by The Guardian.

The newspaper reports that among tests carried out on 97 UK-produced pork products sold in major UK supermarkets, three samples were found to be contaminated with the CC398 strain of MRSA. This strain is widespread in Denmark and is believed to have caused 12,000 infections and six deaths in the country.

While MRSA CC398 is less harmful to humans than the MRSA strain that kills around 300 people in UK hospitals annually, the article notes that it is highly resistant to antibiotics and can be particularly dangerous to those with compromised immune systems.

So, should we be worried about eating pork, and how significant is it to find MRSA in our livestock? Dr Richard Stabler, Associate Professor in Molecular Bacteriology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine explains:

"We don't need to stop eating pork. Human infection is still rare and relatively mild. Good hygiene and cooking will greatly limit any risk.

"I am not so concerned about the MRSA itself, but the threat of antibiotic resistant organisms is a worry. Antibiotic use in farming is significant and can generate resistant organisms that are hard to treat due to lack of effective drugs. MRSA is a problem in that it is resistant to some important antibiotics. Staph aureus can be fatal; however, these livestock-associated strains seem to be less virulent when infecting humans than other MRSA strains we have seen in the past.

"Currently the impact on human health is limited. However, it is possible that the bacteria could adapt, so vigilance and surveillance are vital in ensuring that any increased virulence is detected early.

"We should continue to cook meat properly, take care when handling raw meat and wash hands etc. - but that has always been true. Food poisoning from many different bacteria is relatively common and we need education and improved hygiene. Antibiotics can help if we get infected but those options are getting reduced. It would be better not to get infected in the first place."

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