We are urgently developing research requirements with other European laboratories to make sure we understand and the disease (Schmallenberg) better.Human viruses being 'passed on to farm animals'
HUMAN viruses are now passing across to farm animals, a new study by researchers at Edinburgh University’s Roslin Institute had found.
The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is believed to be the first clear evidence of bacterial pathogens crossing the human-animal species barrier since animals were first domesticated some 10,000 years ago.
The research identified a form of the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus – of which MRSA is a subtype – in chickens, and found that the bacteria originally came from humans.
Genetic testing demonstrated the bacteria crossed over from one species to the other around 40 years ago – coinciding with the move to industrialised poultry production.
Dr. Ross Fitzgerald, of The Roslin Institute, said: “Half a century ago chickens were reared for their eggs, with meat regarded as a by-product.
“Now the demand for meat has led to a poultry industry dominated by a few multinational companies which supply a limited number of breeding lines to a global market - thereby promoting the spread of the bacteria around the world.”
The bacteria are a major cause of animal diseases, including bone infections in poultry and the researchers will now turn their attention to analysing other livestock for emerging pathogens and diseases which may have come from humans.
The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
