Superbug MRSA, a strain highly resistant to antibiotics, can theoretically infect humans.
This strain has emerged in cattle for the last 50 years and new research has investigated just how dangerous it is.
Called CC398, this strain is the main type of MRSA in European cattle. This is probably due to the widespread use of antibiotics in pig farming.
The researchers say it is also the cause of the increase in human infections.
Studies have shown that CC398 has maintained antibiotic resistance in pigs and other animals for decades.
It can rapidly adapt to human hosts by maintaining this resistance to antibiotics.
Scientists say the findings highlight the potential threat this strain of MRSA poses to public health.
It is associated with a growing number of human infectious diseases, both in and out of direct contact with livestock.
Dr. Gemma Murray is the lead author of this study, a former member of the University of Cambridge School of Veterinary Medicine and now a member of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.
“Historically, the use of high levels of antibiotics may have led to MRSA evolving into these antibiotic-resistant strains in pig farms,” ​​he said.
“MRSA antibiotic resistance associated with this breeding has been found to be very stable. It persists for decades and as the bacteria spread to various species of livestock.”
Antibiotic use in European livestock is much lower than before, but researchers have found that the continued decline in pig farms due to recent policy changes has limited impact due to very stable strains.
This strain is most often associated with pigs, but can also be found in a variety of species.
The researchers say the growth is particularly pronounced on Danish pig farms, with MRSA-positive grazing rates rising from 5% to 90% in 2018.
MRSA does not cause disease in pigs.
Dr Lucy Weinert from the University of Cambridge Veterinary School said: “Understanding the occurrence and success of CC398 in European cattle and its infectivity is essential for public health risk management.
MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) was first detected in humans in the 1960s.
Due to its resistance to antibiotics, it is much more difficult to treat than other bacterial infections, and antibiotics are now considered by the World Health Organization to be one of the greatest threats to human health.
Source: Metro
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