Where the MRSA pigs live
MRSA is arguably the most well-known of the resistant bacteria. Many people even have them on their skin without even knowing it. However, it is only when the bacterium gets into the body through an open wound that it becomes dangerous. In hospitals, MRSA can cause severe wound infections in patients with weakened immune systems or after surgery.
In Denmark, MRSA is found on two-thirds of all pig farms. The investigative newsroom „Investigative Reporting Denmark“ recently won a legal trial, forcing the Danish Farmers Association to disclose every farm where MRSA has been found. The association had been reluctant to release the data arguing it was a breach in privacy.
In Germany, the number of farms positive for MRSA could be similar, but data on resistant bacteria and antibiotic consumption are not publicly available at the individual farm level. This makes a transparent analysis of possible threats impossible.
MRSA are bacteria of the species Staphylococcus aureus that are resistant to the methicillin, a commonly used antibiotic. MRSA is one of several different MRSA-strains. Some infect primarily animals, others humans; other strains infect both humans and animals, like the strain MRSA CC398. This strain of MRSA can jump from animals to humans through direct contact, such as when farmers care for their pigs.
Non-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains can be as dangerous as the resistant MRSA and generally speaking, MRSA is not as deadly as many expected it to be. Luckily, methicillin was not the only antibiotic that could kill MRSA.
Take for example Denmark: Over the course of 2013 and 2014 only four people have died from the notorious MRSA CC398 – which led to broad coverage in Danish media. During that same time period, Investigative Reporting Denmark reported that nearly 700 people died of other Staphylococcus aureus strains, citing the Danish Farmers Association.
While MRSA may not be considered the most dangerous resistant bacterium any more, the danger of resistance should not be underestimated. An MRSA infection makes treatment more difficult and expensive in the long run. Additionally, patients infected with MRSA are often stigmatized. The germ is feared by the general public and hospital staff; infected patients are sometimes treated in isolation, which can decrease the quality of care.
