The story in America takes us to yet another familiar scandal gathering strength and another dereliction of duty by those paid to protect public health in Britain.
The problem has been understood for years, but Defra's careful culturing and management of the media, largely kept it from public view in Britain. It is another case of state PR gone potty. You cannot treat zoonotic disease with bullying, favouring cronies and slick public relations.
Now, American and the international media reports threaten to break through a carefully managed wall of silence and disinformation in Britain.
You will find many references to MRSA and pigs on this site, and on the newsgroup uk.business.agriculture dating back years.
Just a couple of headlines:
from 'Nature' here.
http://www.nature.com/news/pig-manure-fertilizer-linked-to-human-mrsa-infections-1.13752
Pig-manure fertilizer linked to human MRSA infections
Living near livestock farms and manure-treated fields associated with higher rates of antibiotic-resistant infection.
16 September 2013
Pigs on industrial farms are known to harbour antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
People living near pig farms or agricultural fields fertilized with pig manure are more likely to become infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria, according to a paper published today in JAMA Internal Medicine...
From 'USA Today' here.
Community-spread MRSA infections related to pig manure
Liz Szabo, USA TODAY 4:07 p.m. EDT September 16, 2013
Living near pig farms or where pig manure is used increases the risk of superbug infections, a new study says...
