MRSA in port Products

Canadian researchers have found antibiotic-resistant Staph bacteria in pork products purchased in retail stores across the country – questions is how the contamination occurred, how frequently it happens and most importantly, what are the implications for human health.

About 10 per cent of sampled pork chops and ground pork recently purchased in four provinces tested positive for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ( MRSA) , lead researcher Dr. Scott Weese reported Wednesday in a presentation to the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases in Atlanta.

Molecular analysis of about half of the isolated bacteria show a mix of strains. Some of the strains could not be typed, which suggests they are probably MRSA strains known to infect pigs only. But of those MSRA strains that could be typed, some were of a common human strain while others were of a type known to infect both horses and humans.