I’m fed up with talking about the weather, but I can console myself with the fact we have grabbed every opportunity so far and progress is not too bad.Fears over rising MRSA levels in EU pigs
MRSA has been found in pigs in 17 of 24 EU member states – but not the UK, according to the first Europe-wide survey of the bacteria.
The highest level of MRSA positives was in Spain, in 51 per cent of breeding pig herds, followed by Germany, Belgium and Italy, research published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) showed.
Despite the failure to find the ‘superbug’ in Britain, the Soil Association is calling for improved testing claiming it could ‘easily have been missed due to a poor testing method which had not been checked before the survey began’.
The association said farm-animal MRSA is a ‘new strain which has developed due to the overuse of antibiotics on factory farms’, which can spread to humans, ‘where it has already caused many life-threatening conditions’.
Soil Association policy adviser, Richard Young said: “It is good news that MRSA has not yet been found in British pigs, but we are in a rapidly developing situation with several different strains of farm-animal MRSA emerging.
“MRSA testing is simple and relatively inexpensive and there can be no excuse for not introducing a comprehensive UK testing programme in pigs, poultry cattle and horses, based on the tried and tested use of nasal swabs.”
He welcomed action earlier this year by the National Pig Association to discourage dealers from buying boatloads of weaner pigs from mainland Europe, which would have provided a route for MRSA to become established on British pig farms.
“We are, however, concerned that importing live animals, including pigs, from affected countries has not been suspended and feel, at the very least, that any producer importing live animals must be required to have them tested for MRSA and quarantined under strict conditions,” he said.
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