USA tests pig vets for MRSA

 It would be beneath the dignity of Britain's veterinarians to get themselves tested for MRSA.

They don't even test the pigs, what hope the veterinarians?

They would rather risk spreading it from farm to farm and take it home to their families.

They know that many of them would be found carrying MRSA and cannot face the inevitable investigation and disgrace that would follow. It has been known that veterinarians carry unusual levels of MRSA for many years.

Mind you, in Britain, from past experience, they would fake or suppress the results anyway, so we are probably better looking abroad for reliable information.

The American veterinary organisations are trying to get ahead of the problem.

Link to American report here

NIOSH Funded Survey of Occupational Safety and MRSA in US Swine Veterinarians

July 18, 2012 — Peter Davies, Leticia Linhares

Dr. Peter Davies at the University of Minnesota is leading a NIOSH funded study of occupational safety in US swine veterinarians, including a long term study of Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA that includes two components.

68 AASV members have volunteered for an 18 month study of nasal colonization with S. aureus
A broader survey of occupational health and safety in US swine veterinarians, similar to a study last done in 1995.
The survey will be conducted on-line using Survey Monkey. The target population is US swine veterinarians who will be contacted via email and invited to participate via a link in the message.

If selected, you can help contribute to better information about health and safety in our profession by responding to the on-line survey link in to be circulated in late July. We expect survey completion will require 10 – 20 minutes of your time.