ANIMAL-EPIDEMICS

Schmallenberg virus

2012-01-23T19:12:00.001Z

As you can see, already Holland and Germany aregetting the blame, in the first sentence, for the spread of this new disease from the Continent to England.

Further down, Britain's infamous agricultural ministry, Defra accept that “it is likely that thedisease has been present in the UK since last autumn.” Exactly, the time whenit was discovered on the Continent.

Having had some experience with Defra, it is just as likelythey have been hiding it up for years.

They will give “straight bat” reports in writing and “blamesomeone else” explanations verbally and off the record, to the media. If theymedia don’t co-operate, they don’t get any more interviews.

It may be true. It is probably a veterinary disinformation campaign.They have not told the truth, about any animal disease, since they were allcaught with amnesia by the Phillips Inquiry over BSE - Mad Cow and had to have their namechanged in disgrace,

If it did get to Britain from the Continent, we do not believe the midge explanation, neither does the man or woman that prepared themap for the Guardian. Look at it.

Full report in Britain's daily newspaper The Guardian, complete with a map that suggests a different means of transit. There are similar moves of live exports from southern England to the Continent, unmapped at the moment.

The newspaper report and map is here

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/jan/23/schmallenberg-virus-confirmed-uk-farms

Schmallenbergvirus confirmed on farms in the UK

Thedisease, which has spread from the Netherlands and Germany, causes abortionsand birth deformities in farm animals

A mysterious virus that causes abortions and birth deformitiesin farm animals including sheep and cattle has been confirmed in the UK. Foursheep farms in Norfolk, Suffolk and East Sussex are known to be harbouring thedisease, which is believed to be transmitted by midges...

MRSA in Conventional and Alternative Retail Pork Products

2012-01-21T13:22:00.000Z

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Research by the University of Iowa tells a sorry tale of MRSA in pigs, and pork in the USA. The position there is even worse than previously thought.

The research seems to carry no good news for the organic movement either.

It is amazing how Britain's state veterinary service, veterans of numerous previous animal epidemics, have managed to keep Britain's pigs and pork clear of MRSA, whilst the rest of the world continues to report a worsening situation.

Nobody has sought to claim a premium for British pork being MRSA free, isn't that strange?

The pigs have produced 20 percent less pork per sow than their continental competitors for years and yet nobody gives any plausible reason.

The British government vets are all lined up for their generous pensions and gongs.

Wake up England!

The quote below is from a blog published today by Tara C Smith, a major researcher on MRSA in livestock in the USA.

The blog, in full, is here

MRSA in pork products: does the "antibiotic-free" label make a difference?

...What does the molecular typing tell us, speaking of contamination
source? We carried out analyses on all the MRSA and found that the
most common type of MRSA was ST398, the "livestock" strain that we
previously found on pig farms in the U.S. We also found two "human"
types were common: USA300 (a "community-associated" strain) and USA100
(typically considered a "hospital-associated" strain). In the simplest
analysis of these findings, these molecular types (a combination of
"human" and "pig" strains) suggests that MRSA on raw pork products may
be coming both from farms and from food handlers. However, in real
life, it's not quite so straightforward. USA100 types have also been
found in live pigs. So has USA300. As such, the source of
contamination and relative contributions of live pigs versus human
meat handlers currently isn't certain....

The full University of Iowa News Release is here

Highlights include:

...Jan. 20, 2012

UI study: High levels of MRSA bacteria in retail meat products

Retail pork products in the United States. have a higher prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (MRSA) than previously identified, according to new research by the University of Iowa College of Public Health and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

MRSA can occur in the environment and in raw meat products, and is estimated to cause around 185,000 cases of food poisoning each year. The bacteria can also cause serious, life-threatening infections of the bloodstream, skin, lungs, and other organs. MRSA is resistant to a number of antibiotics.

The study, published Jan. 19 in the online science journal PLoS ONE, represents the largest sampling of raw meat products for MRSA contamination to date in the U.S. The researchers collected 395 raw pork samples from 36 stores in Iowa, Minnesota, and New Jersey. Of these samples, 26 -- or about 7 percent -- carried MRSA...

The abstract and full report is available on Plosone here titled:

MRSA in Conventional and Alternative Retail Pork Products

Foston - Protests delay pig farm plans

2012-01-05T16:58:00.000Z

Councils have to take more notice of a more questioning electorate. That is what a planning consultation is all about.

People are asking questions - and the right ones too.

More by accident than design, Midland have actually admitted that they are testing their pigs for MRSA and say they have found nothing.

Why would they test? Defra's vets have told the world there is no MRSA in British pigs.

Defra don't do much testing and then only when ordered to do so by the EU.

But the veterinarians who screwed Britain up with BSE, CSF, Foot and Mouth etc. seem confident enough not to need many tests before giving the world assurances that British pigs do not have MRSA.

Defra's veterinarians are not scientists or public servants to inspire much confidence!

And the people of England know that.

Full report here

Public response delays ruling on pig farm plans

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Derby Telegraph

A DECISION on whether controversial plans for a massive pig farm
should go ahead has been delayed because a public consultation into
the proposal attracted thousands of responses.

Midland Pig Producers applied to Derbyshire County Council for
permission to build the farm, which could house up to 25,000 animals near Foston.

The authority received more than 16,000 objections by letter, e-mail
or petition. A list drawn up by the council, outlining the main
objections, shows animal welfare, risk to human health and the spread of disease are among concerns...

Antibiotics lead us into death

2012-01-04T12:15:00.000Z

Realism is beginning to creep into the English languagefarming media.

This is an animal feed publication with a finger on the button. We can do no better than copy their header.

“Pig Progress” is a part of the same group,published in the Netherlands but with much British contribution, not least from prominent pig veterinarians.

Change is in the air, in most places anyway. Britainremaining a stubborn, very stupid, exception, still following the advice of acorrupt, criminalised, drug revenue dependant, veterinary establishment.

MRSA st398 - "pig MRSA", although not admitted in pigs, is in Britain, but no precautionary measures are taken in British hospitals to deal with pig farmers, pork handlers or veterinarians.

It is a scandal about to break about the heads of Britain's hard pressed NHS (National Health Service) and traceable directly back to the deplorable agriculture ministry, now Defra, and their appalling veterinarians.

These are the bunglers responsible for mishandling constant animal epidemics, many of which have human health implications and require vast contributions every year from the taxpayer to try to minimise the consequences.

The full article is here

Antibiotics lead us into death

//04 Jan 2012

Author:Dick Ziggers

More people in hospitals become infected withresistant bacteria that doctors cannot treat with antibiotics. In Europe it isestimated that 25,000 people die because of this. Some of the bacteria alsooccur in the livestock industry, such as MRSA and ESBL...

...MRSA(Methicilline resistant Staphylocossus aureus) develops on pig farmsand with transports of piglets and finishers the bacteria have spread rapidly.About 40% of the pig farmers in the Netherlands carry MRSA-bacteria and if theyhave to go to hospital they have to be cared for separately andquarantined...

...In order to avoid this horror scenario for other countries, antibiotic use inthe livestock industry has to be minimised. This is possible with vaccinationsagainst diseases, better feed and better housing....

MRSA on Pig Farms in Croatia

2011-12-27T23:44:00.000Z

It is amazing to see how far Croatia has come though war and troubles in recent years. It's sad to see MRSA in their pigs, but good to see them admit it.

Britain remains in denial: from the top of the international veterinary tree to a corrupt criminalised backwater in less then a single veterinary generation.

Abstract here

2011 Dec;59(4):419-25.

The presence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus on large pig breeding farms in Croatia.

Habrun B, Ra?i? I, Beck R, Budimir A, Beni? M, Kompes G, Spi?i? S,
Cvetni? Z.

Source
Croatian Veterinary Institute Department of Bacteriology and
Parasitology Savska cesta 143 10000 Zagreb Croatia. habrun@veinst.hr

Abstract

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have emerged worldwide and have become resistant to a variety of antibiotics. MRSA colonisation in pigs was first reported from the Netherlands in 2005,
where pigs were implicated as a source of human MRSA infections (Voss et al., 2005).

This paper presents the first report on the presence of MRSA on large pig breeding farms in Croatia, together with the determination of the mecA gene, the results of spa typing and susceptibility to commonly used antimicrobials. Dust samples (7-11 per farm) were collected from eight large pig farms in Croatia. Of the total 68 swabs, the mecA gene was detected in 24 isolates growing on the MRSA agar. All isolates were resistant to oxacillin, tetracycline and streptomycin, and susceptible only to vancomycin, while 92% of the strains were susceptible to ciprofloxacin. Genotyping of the MRSA strains was performed by spa typing, and revealed t011 (n = 17), t034 (n = 5) and t1451 (n = 2). The results presented here predict that MRSA is present on a large number of pig farms in Croatia.

MRSA on German Organic and Conventional Pig Farms

2011-12-22T11:42:00.001Z

This apparently previously unpublished report isnot peer reviewed.

However, the summary does seem to accord with common sense. It does not seek to claim that organic pigs are free from MRSA st398 and the reasons why organic farming has less MRSA in pigs seem reasonable.

The incidence of MRSA on German conventional pig farms isamazing, not least when compared with the alleged absence of MRSA on Britishpig farms.

If the industry really believed this was the situation inBritain, they would be basing all their marketing on it – and making a fortune.

It would be a pretty remarkable performance to keep Britain clear of a diseaseadmitted almost everywhere else, and for years.

Why don’t they make the claim loud and bold of a superiorproduct?

They don’t because they do not want to become associated tooclosely with British state veterinary crime. They do not have the protection ofCrown Immunity.

Veterinary heads are going to roll in Britain. The currentsituation would not and will not stand scrutiny. The vets now have no way out.They left it too long to whistle-blow or own up.

The report is available here

21st December 2011

Summarytranslation

In the last few years, importance of MRSA inlivestock grows more and more. In this study, the occurrence of MRSA wasassessed on 42 organic and 88 conventional pig herds in different regions ofGermany by taking dust samples and nasal swabs. In addition, the spa-types wereidentified. The results of this study showed that 11 of the 42 (26%) examinedorganic pig herds were MRSA-positive, whereas 92% of the conventional pig herdswere identified as MRSA-positive. In both husbandry systems, similar spa-types (t011,t034) were identified, which are associated with the MRSA ST398.

The low prevalence of MRSA in organic pig herds in comparison to conventionalpig farming is due to different factors: Perhaps the most important one ismoving animals less than in conventional pig farming. One reason is thepreferred form of closed systems in organic pig farming. Because of this,possibilities for intake of MRSA from outside are low. MRSA which are alreadyin the organic pig population are not able to spread as fast as those inconventional systems because of a strong competitor flora and low animaldensity. Now it will be necessary to examine especially the intake of MRSA inorganic pig herds in former studies and to dam its spread by regular screeningsof animals and their environment.

Collect MRSA st398 with the eggs?

2011-12-15T12:41:00.001Z

Some alarming statistics that have massiveimplications. A harmless activity carries a risk of catching superbugs.

British government veterinarians have still not managed to find MRSA st398 in British pigs.

They have not looked properly, anxious to blame everyone else when they do finally have to admit its presence on British farms.

MRSA st398 was found it in some Scottish children some years ago.

The current position is if they do have it in livestock, there is no danger tohumans.

We pay these veterinarians, but for what?

Why are theyadvising on human health issues?

Summary and access to full report here

Published online: 12 December 2011

MRSA-ST398 in livestock farmers and neighbouring residents in arural area in Germany

B. BISDORFF^a1 ^c1,J. L. SCHOLHÖLTER^a1, K. CLAUßEN^a2, M. PULZ^a2,D. NOWAK^a1 and K.RADON^a1

^a1Instituteand Outpatient Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine,University Hospital of Munich (LMU), Occupational and EnvironmentalEpidemiology & NetTeaching Unit, Munich, Germany

^a2GovernmentalInstitute of Public Health of Lower Saxony, Hannover, Germany

SUMMARY

Prevalence of and risk factors associated with MRSA-ST398carriage in 1872 (response 70%) farmers and neighbouring residents in a pig-and poultry-dense area in Germany were investigated using a cross-sectionalstudy and self-sampling nasal swabs. In the population, 1% without occupationallivestock contact and 24% with occupational livestock contact tested positivefor MRSA-ST398. The group without occupational livestock contact was 3·8 times[95% confidence interval (CI) 1·5–9·3] more likely to be colonized if ahousehold member had livestock contact and 3·2 times (95% CI 1·4–7·4) morelikely if they regularly made private farm visits (e.g. to buy eggs or milk).In the group with occupational livestock contact, pig contact had an odds ratioof 7·1 (95% CI 2·9–17·2) for MRSA-ST398 acquisition. This is the first study toassociate private farm visits with acquisition of MRSA; more research toexplore the exact transmission routes is necessary.

MRSA in Swiss pigs increasing

2011-12-07T10:51:00.001Z

MRSA is getting worse in Swiss pigs according to this report.

A three fold increase in two years is ominous.

The full text is here

...This study is the first to describe the presence of MRSA ST49 in
slaughter pigs, and to demonstrate a significant and nearly three-fold
increase of MRSA prevalence in pigs within two years. The presence of
a specific clonal lineage of MRSA from Switzerland suggests that it
has been selected in Swiss pig husbandry. Effective hygiene measures
should be enhanced within the entire pig production chain to suppress
the spread of these pathogens into the community.

MRSA st398 responsible for bloodstream infections?

2011-12-06T14:22:00.001Z

Events become ever more ominous for Britain's vetocracy.

Their attempt to start a trade war with the Americans on the issue of antibiotic resistance is doomed to total failure.

Attempts to start smoke screens will be swamped by the avalanche of science linking MRSA st398 to human illness and the curious absence of MRSA st398 in British pigs.

Everyone will want to know how this miracle was achieved.

We think we can tell them.

Full report here

Methicillin-Susceptible ST398 Staphylococcus aureus Responsible for Bloodstream Infections: An Emerging Human-Adapted Subclone?

Abstract

In the course of an annual 3-month bloodstream infections (BSI) survey conducted during a four-year period in 31 healthcare institutions located in three noncontiguous French regions, we report 18 ST398 Staphylococcus aureus BSI. ST398 BSI incidence showed a seven-fold increase during the study period (0.002 per 1,000 patient days in 2007 vs. 0.014 in 2010). ST398 BSI isolates differed from the pig-borne multiresistant clone: 17/18 BSI isolates were methicillin susceptible and none was of t011, t034 or t108 pig-borne spa-types. ST398 BSI isolates had homogenous resistance patterns (15/18 with only Eryr) and prophagic content (all harboured the hlb-converting Sau3int phage).

The clustering of BSI and pig-borne isolates by spa-typing and MLVA, the occurrence of Sau3int phage in BSI isolates and the lack of this phage in pig-borne isolates suggest that the emergence of BSI isolates could have arisen from horizontal transfer, at least of the Sau3int phage, in genetically diverse MSSA ST398 isolates. The acquisition of the phage likely plays a role in the increasing ability of the lysogenic ST398 isolates to colonize human. The mode of acquisition of the non pig-borne ST398 isolates by our 18 patients remains unclear. ST398 BSI were diagnosed in patients lacking livestock exposure and were significantly associated with digestive portals of entry (3/18 [16.7%] for ST398 vs. 19/767 [2.5%] for non ST398 BSI; p = .012). This raises the question of possible foodborne human infections. We suggest the need for active surveillance to study and control the spread of this human-adapted subclone increasingly isolated in the hospital setting.

The last words of the Conclusion on the full version are worth noting too:

We found that a digestive portal of entry was much more common among ST398 compared to other S. aureus BSIs, lending weight to the hypothesis of foodborne transmission. Further farm-to-fork studies are required to elucidate the possible role of food, especially retail meat samples including beef, pork and chicken, as a source of human infection.

MRSA in pigs - New report

2011-12-05T11:19:00.001Z

The white flag is flying over the Royal Veterinary College; well actually is is more like a grubby rag waved from a basement. It's all too late, as they effectively admit.

The Pig Site is reporting EU Research co-ordinated by the RVC

They do not mention MRSA in British pigs, but they do include the following items.

"A European alliance of scientists has confronted the spread of dangerous MRSA strains in the community and in livestock."

"The bacterium however did not escape from the hospitals but emerged, amongst others through antibiotic and zinc use, among live-stock. The eradication of MRSA among live-stock is practically impossible to achieve"

"The bacterium is genetically flexible and has been shown to adapt rather easily to new circumstances. Therefore, MRSA remains a health care threat. A solution is not yet available and prudent use of antibiotics is currently the only option to limit spread as much as possible."

"New research shows close contact needed to catch MRSA from pigs

The resistant bacterium, MRSA ST398, is often associated with pigs but mostly affects people who have regular and close contact with the animals"

There is much more detail which can be reached here

Monday, December 05, 2011
Research: Close Contact to Catch MRSA from Pigs

Antibiotic Resistance loiters on organic farms.

2011-12-03T11:02:00.001Z

Bad news for Britain's organic producers' Soil Association from Canada. Indeed, bad news for us all, bearing in mind other studies recently published that reveal the link between farm and hospital.

The full article and supporting documentation can be reached here

Drug Resistance Loiters on Antibiotic-Free Farms
by Beth Marie Mole on 2 December 2011, 2:47 PM

Breeding ground. Pig farms breed drug-resistant bacteria that can linger for years after antibiotics are banned.

Livestock farms that stop using antibiotics may still be breeding grounds for drug-resistant germs, according to a new study. Scientists have found that bacteria in a group of Canadian pigs remained mostly impervious to two antibiotics years after farmers stopped dosing the animals. This antibiotic resistance could eventually make its way into hospitals and the human food supply, although experts caution that no link has yet been proved...

MRSA st398 identifiable in hospital by Tetracycline Resistance

2011-12-02T16:20:00.001Z

That 's one way of identifying 'piggy' MRSA in hospital patients: the hard way - when human antibiotics don't work!

MRSA cc398 is the same strain as MRSA st398 - sometimes called "pig MRSA."

Abstract here

High prevalence of spa types associated with the clonal lineage CC398 among tetracycline-resistant methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains in a Spanish hospital.

J Antimicrob Chemother. 2011 Nov 28;

Authors: Lozano C, Rezusta A, Gómez P, Gómez-Sanz E, Báez N, Martin-Saco G, Zarazaga M, Torres C

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: CC398 (67.3%), CC1 (11.5%), CC5 (11.5%) and CC8 (9.6%). A novel sequence type (ST), ST2077, belonging to CC398 was identified.

Most MRSA CC398 strains were typed as SCCmecV-agrI. In addition to ?-lactam resistance, isolates showed resistance to (gene/number of strains): tetracycline [tet(K)/36, tet(L)/8 and tet(M)/48], macrolides and lincosamides [erm(B)/6, erm(C)/25, erm(T)/2, msr(A)/msr(B)/4 and mph(C)/4], aminoglycosides [aac(6')-Ie-aph(2')-Ia/8, ant(4')-Ia/13 and aph(3')-IIIa/15], trimethoprim [dfrS1/2 and dfrK/3] and mupirocin
(mupA/3).

Strains investigated for mutations mediating quinolone resistance revealed an S80F exchange in GrlA and different changes in GyrA. Three strains were Panton-Valentine leucocidin-positive (ST8 and ST94) and 41 strains were cna-positive. All MRSA isolates were negative for the genes tst, eta, etb and etd.

Conclusions
Tetracycline resistance could be a good marker for MRSA CC398, although this resistance can also be found in other lineages.

PMID: 22127589 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Danes can trace MRSA st398

2011-12-01T19:28:00.001Z

The Danes can trace MRSA st398 (cc398) from farm to farm and by implication from farm to hospital.

"Oh ****!" said Britain's vetocracy whilst reaching for the nearest PR bunny.

Abstract here

Epidemiol Infect. 2011 Nov 25:1-6. [Epub ahead of print]
Farm-specific lineages of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clonal complex 398 in Danish pig farms.

Espinosa-Gongora C, Larsen J, Moodley A, Nielsen JP, Skov RL, Andreasen M, Guardabassi L.

Source
Department of Veterinary Disease Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg C, Denmark.

Abstract

SUMMARY

The objective of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clonal complex (CC) 398 using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE).

Dust and pigs at five age groups were sampled in six Danish MRSA-positive pig farms. MRSA CC398 was isolated from 284 of the 391 samples tested, including 230 (74%) animal and 54 (68%) environmental samples. PFGE analysis of a subset of 48 isolates, including the six strains previously isolated from farm workers, revealed the existence of farm-specific pulsotypes. With a single exception, human, environmental and porcine isolates originating from the same farm clustered together in the PFGE cluster analysis, indicating that spread of MRSA CC398 in Danish pig farms is mainly due to clonal dissemination of farm-specific lineages that can be discriminated by PFGE.

This finding has important implications for planning future epidemiological studies investigating the spread of CC398 in pig farming.

PMID: 22117120 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Circovirus may render pigs liable to CSF and other diseases

2011-12-01T15:17:00.001Z

So circovirus decreases theefficiency of CSF- Classical Swine Fever vaccine!

Now let’s go back to 2000. Britain was suffering, a more orless undeclared even, secret, PMWS-PDNS (Circovirus) epidemic and the real thing- CSF, the dreaded Classical Swine Fever, not a vaccine, arrived in Britain.

So circovirus would presumably reduce any natural defencesagainst CSF (and perhaps the follow up FMD – Foot and Mouth epidemic too)

The cheekily named "Gardiner Hypothesis" see above, suggested circovirus renders pigs more liable toother diseases and the extraordinary personal story told in Stop the World is now explained.

Porcine Circovirus is a very nasty virus and it has been present in Britain since 1999 rendering the pigs liable to other diseases. It rivals the British government veterinarians for sneaky behaviour and it caught them out in 2000 and 2001.

The CSF and FMD (Foot and Mouth) epidemics were major national disasters, with consequential animal cruelty, human anguish and huge national financial losses.

This report makes the connection clear:

“This PCV2-derived interference may not only allow the invasion ofwild-type CSFV in pig farms but also increases the difficulty of CSF preventionand control in CSF endemic areas.”

Abstract here and provisional full report here.

Porcine circovirustype 2 (PCV2) infection decreases the efficacy of an attenuated classical swinefever virus (CSFV) vaccine

Yu-Liang Huang, VictorFei Pang, Chun-Ming Lin, Yi-ChiehTsai, Mi-Yuan Chia, Ming-ChungDeng, Chia-Yi Changand Chian-RenJeng

Veterinary Research 2011, 42:115 doi:10.1186/1297-9716-42-115

Published: 1 December 2011

Abstract (provisional)

The Lapinized Philippines Coronel (LPC) vaccine, an attenuatedstrain of classical swine fever virus (CSFV), is an important tool for theprevention and control of CSFV infection and is widely and routinely used inmost CSF endemic areas, including Taiwan. The aim of this study was toinvestigate whether PCV2 infection affects the efficacy of the LPC vaccine.Eighteen 6-week-old, cesarean-derived and colostrum-deprived (CDCD), crossbredpigs were randomly assigned to four groups. A total of 105.3 TCID50 of PCV2 wasexperimentally inoculated into pigs through both intranasal and intramuscularroutes at 0 days post-inoculation (dpi) followed by LPC vaccination 12 dayslater. All the animals were challenged with wild-type CSFV (ALD stain) at 27dpi and euthanized at 45 dpi. Following CSFV challenge, the LPC-vaccinated pigspre-inoculated with PCV2 showed transient fever, viremia, and viral shedding inthe saliva and feces. The number of IgM+, CD4+CD8-CD25+, CD4+CD8+CD25+, andCD4-CD8+CD25+ lymphocyte subsets and the level of neutralizing antibodiesagainst CSFV were significantly higher in the animals with LPC vaccinationalone than in the pigs with PCV2 inoculation/LPC vaccination. In addition,PCV2-derived inhibition of the CSFV-specific cell proliferative response ofperipheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was demonstrated in an ex vivoexperiment. These findings indicate that PCV2 infection decreases the efficacyof the LPC vaccine. This PCV2-derived interference may not only allow theinvasion of wild-type CSFV in pig farms but also increases the difficulty ofCSF prevention and control in CSF endemic areas.

Animal Antibiotics feeding Human Resistance

2011-11-26T13:51:00.001Z

Australia is on the trail of antibiotic resistance from livestock.

In Britain? A cross between hoping it will go away if it is ignored and smothered with positive PR and veterinarians hopelessly arguing the toss and spinning furiously.

What they miss is that the hospitals are looking for someone to blame for a deteriorating situation and the vets are the obvious candidate.

Quite aside from the rights and wrongs, the British vets are massively outnumbered by one of the largest organisations in the world. The National Health Service people also have more and better scientists and resources.

If the veterinarians were in the right, they would be in trouble. But as they are wrong, they stand no chance and are merely prolonging the agony and compounding the guilt.

A decade of cover-up is too long.

Full article here, audio interview here

Health expert calls for investigation of antibiotics in foodchain

Updated November 25, 2011 19:27:00

An emergency medicine expert has called for an investigation into the potential health threat of animals being fed antibiotics to promote growth. Dr Thomas Gottlieb the President of the Australian Society for Infectious Diseases is worried about how much of the drugs are entering the food chain.

Germans count and curb livestock antibiotics

2011-11-22T11:23:00.001Z

The Germans are tightening up on antibiotic usage in livestock. The following is a brief summary of a US government translation. The full report is available via the url.

Data collection, publication and transparency are of course issues yet to come to the surface in Britain.

The lack of anything sensible is one of the strongest indicators of civil service cover-ups. It will become a major issue. The black hole in Britain will become ever more obvious as others increase
publication.

DEFRA, the British agricultural ministry, have delayed so long in publishing appalling figures, that the government of the day will get publicly thrashed, when they finally have to admit how bad things are in Britain and how long the veterinary cover-up has been going on.

They will then have to do something about purging and restructuring the various government veterinary services. It will save a fortune anyway. Veterinary fiascos, such as BSE (Mad Cow) and, Foot and Mouth, have cost Britain billions.

Full report (US translation) here

The German Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV) announced a package of measures to have a better control on the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry.

The way data is collected and processed will be changed to make the use of antibiotics more transparent and to develop ways to fight resistance. Data about the use of antibiotics in poultry production will now also be collected.

GM2017
11/9/2011

British veterinarians welcome antibiotic curbs

2011-11-17T17:01:00.001Z

They British veterinarians had to welcome the report, to do otherwise would be suicidal.

The figure of 25,000 people dying each year is sobering.

Where do we go from here?

The pigs are still sick and massive quantities of antibiotics are still used.

The full Farmers Guardian report is here

Vets welcome Brussels antimicrobial resistance plan

17 November 2011 | By Alistair Driver

VETS have welcomed plans by the European Commission to address the problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in human and animal medicine....

...the seriousness of the problem, the Commission said about 25,000 patients were dying each year in the EU from infections caused by drug resistant bacteria, adding €1.5 billion to healthcare costs.

The 12-point action plan reflects the growing belief that high usage of antibiotics in farming, primarily the pig, poultry and dairy sectors, is contributing significantly to the problem.

Pressure is building to tackle the problem...

Porcine Circovirus, the Dam is Bursting

2011-11-13T22:47:00.001Z

We finally get an admission that tightly packed pigs ininsanitary conditions get more circovirus.

The writer could have toldthem that, and did, years ago.

But theveterinarians insisted that copious expensive antibiotics to controlco-infections were the way to go.

So, we got richvets, sick pigs and antibiotic resistant disease leaving the farms and enteringthe hospitals, kept quiet by multiple cover-ups.

The dam is finally bursting.

It is, perhaps, the biggest scandal of the twenty-first century.

http://www.animalpharmnews.com/productsectors/vaccines/Environment-vital-in-countering-PMWS-323566?autnRef=/contentstore/animalpharmnews/codex/c6c6ebd2-0abc-11e1-bbe6-4d8e6a53eb99.xml

Environmentvital in countering PMWS

11 November 2011

Malcolm Flanagan

Researchers at the RoyalVeterinary College (RVC) in the United Kingdom have discovered that farms withthe lowest incidence of post weaning multi-systemic syndrome (PMWS) had cleanenriched environments with the maximum amount of space possible for pigs. ProfessorDirk Werling of the RVC said ...

Porcine Circovirus - Co-existence of Multiple Strains

2011-11-13T13:18:00.001Z

We have always worried about porcine circovirus and theimplications for human health. The treatment of bacterial co-infections to circoviruses with antibiotics gives rise to antibiotic resistant pathogens that impact on human health.

Had the truth been told in Britain in 1999-2001, things would be verydifferent now.

If the truth was told now, things might yet be verydifferent in the future

http://www.virologyj.com/content/8/1/517/abstract

Co-existence ofmultiple strains of porcine circovirus type 2 in the same pig from China

Shao-Lun Zhai, Sheng-NanChen, Zu-Zhang Wei, Jian-WuZhang, Lv Huang, TaoLin, Cheng Yue, Duo-LiangRan,Shi-ShanYuan, Wen-Kang Wei and Jin-Xue Long

For allauthor emails, please log on.

Virology Journal 2011, 8:517 doi:10.1186/1743-422X-8-517

Published: 13 November 2011

Abstract (provisional)

Pigs are often co-infected by different viral strains from thesame virus. Up to now, there are few reports about co-existence of differentporcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) strains in China. The aim of this study was toevaluate it in Chinese swine herds. 118 PCV2 positive DNAs isolated fromdiseased pigs identified by classic PCR were re-detected using a modifieddifferential PCR assay. The results indicated that co-existence rates of PCV2were 32.2 % (38/118) in diseased pigs and 0 % (0/41) in asymptomatic pigs. FourPCV2 complete genomes were cloned from two co-infected samples and theirnucleotide (nt) identities were 95%-97.3%. The phylogenetic analysis showedthat four PCV2 strains were divided into different genotypes, PCV2a, PCV2b,PCV2d and PCV2e, respectively. In addition, co-existence were not detected in41 serum samples from healthy pigs but PCV2 single infection (31.7%, 13/41)existed. These data revealed that the co-existence of different strains of PCV2might contribute to the development of more severe clinical symptoms for pigs.This is the first report confirming the co-existence of different PCV2 strainsin Chinese swine herds. Meanwhile, this study could help us to understand newinfection and prevalence forms of PCV2 clinically.

Foston Pig Farm - the human risks understated

2011-11-11T11:18:00.001Z

The writer is neither a member nor a supporter of the SoilAssociation; however, all these points are right as far as they go.

They come from a longer media release celebrating the Soil Association's apparent success in getting the proposed new Foston Mega Pig Farm stopped bythe local council.

They fail to mention that “organic” pigs are now just aslikely to be a problem, as are rare breeds, and in many cases they understateboth the seriousness of the problem and its longevity.

Britain’s pigs have been ill for more than a decade andillness has been spreading into the hospitals for years. The vets, inparticular, have been carrying it from farm to farm and from the farm into thecommunity.

We had also noted the Health Protection Agency underplaying the potential risks of Foston, and similar pig farms, by misquoting American research here

The genie of zoonotic superbugs is out of the bottle in Britain and probably will not be forced back in our lifetime. We will have to learn to live, if we, can without the huge benefits of antibiotics, not just for animals but for people too.

The full Soil Association media release may be read here

Keypoints of this evidence include:

pig farming accounts for approximately 60% of all UK farm antibiotic use
research shows that the levels of disease and the use of antibiotics both increase as pig farms get bigger
larger herd size is linked with higher levels of many diseases in pigs, including some that can cause illness in people
for certain bacteria, such as salmonella and campylobacter, most of the antibiotic resistance in human infections comes from farm-animal antibiotic use
resistance to antibiotics can transfer between both animals and humans and this occurs more frequently, and with far greater ease, than was previously believed
a number of very serious new types of antibiotic resistance have developed in recent years and several of these are increasing in farm animals
C. difficile ‘superbug’ bacteria which has been found in hospitals is a growing problem in pigs worldwide, and the latest research shows that at least one strain of the pathogen is now present in British pigs
there is growing evidence that C. difficile may be spreading from pig farms to humans through the environment
there is concern about the risk of Pig MRSA spreading to the UK; it is now well established that people working with MRSA positive pigs, such as farmers, veterinarians, and even their family members, are at risk of colonisation and infection - there have also been a number of very serious cases and deaths
there are real concerns that unless antibiotics are used much more sparingly we will soon find ourselves facing a range of serious diseases in humans and animals that can no longer be treated effectively.

MRSA st398 in German pigs

2011-11-10T14:09:00.001Z

A new report reveals that MRSA st398 is widespread on German pig farms, especially the large operations fattening pigs.

In Continental Europe, the usual term is "MRSA cc398" : in the English speaking countries "MRSA st398" is the more usual description.

Britain continues to fail to admit that the strain is present in British pigs and, in the past, has actually denied that British pigs are carrying a form of MRSA known to be dangerous to humans.

The full text of the German research may be found here

Factors associated with the occurrence of MRSA CC398 in herds of fattening pigs in Germany


Published:	10 November 2011

Abstract (provisional)

Background

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of MRSA in herds of fattening pigs in different regions of Germany, and to determine factors associated with the occurrence of this pathogen...

Results

Overall, 152 of 290 (52%) fattening pig farms tested positive for MRSA...

... Identified spa-types were all associated with clonal complex CC398...

...Logistic regression revealed herd size (large farms OR: 5.4; CI: 2.7-11.2; p<0.05), and production type (wean-to-finish OR: 4.0; CI: 1.6-10.4; p<0.05) as risk factors associated with a positive MRSA finding in fattening pig operations.

Conclusions

MRSA CC398 is widely distributed among herds of fattening pigs in Germany. Farm management plays a crucial role in the dissemination of MRSA with herd size, and production type representing potential major indicators.

MRSA st398 found in American meat

2011-11-09T16:49:00.000Z

It has just been announced that MRSA st398 - so called "piggy MRSA" (also termed MRSA cc398 on the continent of Europe) has been found in American meat. It had previous been found in Canadian meat, but not in the USA.

Britain seems to be the only major country with pig production in the Northern Hemisphere that continues to claim that its pigs and pork are MRSA free.

It might be fairer to say "have not withdrawn their claim that British pigs and pork are MRSA free." It has not been repeated for a couple of years, but equally no admission or correction has been made.

MRSA st398 has been found, in children, in Scotland some years ago, but nothing in pigs or pork.

What you won't look for properly, you won't find.

Defra, Britain's infamous agriculture ministry, will not be able to hold out for much longer. They will have to provide data for Britain and an explanation for the long delay.

Tara Smith's explanation of the meaning of the American research is here, with the promise of more to come. Be sure to read the complete blog entry in full here

This is a very important research for Britain too.

MRSA found in Iowa meat

Posted on: November 9, 2011 9:00 AM, by Tara C. Smith

I've blogged previously on a few U.S. studies which investigated methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus in raw meat products (including chicken, beef, turkey, and pork). This isn't just a casual observation as one who eats food--I follow this area closely as we also have done our own pair of food sampling investigations here in Iowa, and will be doing a much larger, USDA-funded investigation of the issue over the next 5 years...

...Why am I rehashing all of this? We have a new paper out examining S. aureus in Iowa meats--and did find for the first time MRSA ST398, as well as MRSA USA300 and MSSA strains including both presumptive "human" and "animal" types. This was just a pilot study and numbers are still fairly small, but enough to say that yes, this is here in the heart of flyover country as well as in the other areas already examined.

Foston Pig Farm - Superbug risks - Discrepancy

2011-11-05T12:00:00.000Z

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A few days ago in our post (here) celebrating the long delayed admission by the British government of the risks to public health from antibiotic resistance arising from pig farms, we quoted from the Health Protection Agency:

“Recent research has found that those living up to 150m downwind of an intensive swine [pig] farming installation could be at risk of adverse human health effects associated with exposure to multi- drug resistant organisms.”

The context is the planning process for a new large indoor pig farm at Foston in Derbyshire opposed by the Soil Association and local residents.

The planning process revealed that the company behind the proposal was testing for MRSA in their pigs, even though the government claims British pigs are clear of MRSA st398.

When we checked back to the American source of the original research, quoted by the Health Protection Agency, which has been available for nearly six years, we found what seems to be an interesting discrepancy:

Bacterial concentrations with multiple antibiotic resistances or multidrug resistance were recovered inside and outside to (at least) 150 m downwind of this facility at higher percentages than upwind. Bacterial concentrations with multiple antibiotic resistances were found within and downwind of the facility even after subtherapeutic antibiotics were discontinued. This could pose a potential human health effect for those who work within or live in close proximity to these facilities. (report here)

In short, the Texans say the the risk is at least 150 m (downwind), the HPA version limits the risk to 150 m.

Both the discrepancy and the reasons are important to the planning process and the health of local residents, including a prison, next door to the proposed new farm. Prisons in the United States have become centres for the spread of MRSA.

This is public health: this matters.

Antibiotic Resistance risk from pigs to humans admitted by British Government vets

2011-11-01T15:07:00.001Z

British veterinary civil servants in the Health Protection Agency are finally admitting public risk from antibiotic resistance arising in pig farms.

It does not seem much, but it is a massive about turn. It is hardly “recent research.”

The reality is that the risks to humans have been both known and realised for years, and denied by the veterinary establishment, who also claimed that Britain was free of porcine MRSA.

The Soil Association has already established and publicised the fact that Midland Pig Producers test pigs for MRSA, a problem that has never been admitted, and actually denied, in British pigs.

Now the fur will fly. They will all want to be first out the door with whatever they can take with them for a comfortable retirement.

It is now up to us to make sure there is a full public enquiry.

And, of course, that nothing like this ever happens again.

Full Soil Association Media Release here

Health Protection Agency confirms human health concerns over proposed mega pig farm in Derbyshire

31 October 2011

In what may be a fatal blow to the Midland Pig Producers’ planning application, the Health Protection Agency have raised strong concerns about the potential risk to public health of the proposed ‘mega pig farm’ for South Derbyshire.

Following thousands of letters from the public, Derbyshire County Council asked the Health Protection Agency (HPA) to submit evidence regarding the human health impacts of the proposed Foston ‘mega’ Pig farm, an indoor pig factory for 2,500 mother pigs (sows) and around 20,000 piglets, with 1,000 pigs going for slaughter each week.
Expert advice given by the HPA confirms the detailed scientific review of evidence from around the world, submitted by the Soil Association last year.

The Soil Association objected to the proposal on the grounds that the extremely high number of pigs housed in one location may increase the level of disease on the holding and over time that may pose a threat to the health of the local community.

A statement by the HPA echoed these concerns and asserted that “recent research has found that those living up to 150m downwind of an intensive swine farming installation could be at risk of adverse human health effects associated with exposure to multi- drug resistant organisms.” ...

Superbugs in East Anglian Hospitals?

2011-10-30T13:52:00.000Z

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Currently there is a major row at Great Yarmouth / Lowestoft over the James Paget Hospital. That is no secret and is being covered in the national press and on the BBC.

Questions are being asked in Parliament by East Anglian MPs following complaints by a large group of GPs.

East Norfolk and North Suffolk is in an uproar, with patients refusing to be treated at the James Paget.

The hospital is responding to repeated inspection failures over poor care of the elderly and nutrition problems. The government is acting led by the Minister of Health. Draconian actions are being threatened.

The BBC gives a reasonable summary here. More fiery accounts are available elsewhere.

The GPs ( a large group, not a few anonymous complainants) are likening it to the Stafford Hospital scandal with their excess deaths and chaos, suggesting that the problems are not just a side issue of poor nursing care.

The BBC reminds us about Stafford here

However, taking the lead from the GPs, it is perhaps an optimum time to remind readers that the James Paget hospital has had superbug problems. They are known to have led to 17 deaths a few years ago.

That was well covered by the writer on the newsgroup uk.business.agriculture at the time coupled with suggestions that zoonotic disease and local intensive livestock farming and processing especially pigs and poultry might be the source.

The cause was C.Diff 027, a pathogen shared with pigs. Quebec has had similar problems in both the hospitals and their pigs. That outbreak was known to the James Paget in 2007 and reported locally at that time.

The hospital was quoted in 2007 as saying "We know there is a link between C diff and antibiotics however there are certain antibiotics which will not trigger the disease and we have been working with the local Primary Care Trust and GPs to get this message out. Normal hand gel does not have any effect, which is why stricter cleaning regimes have been imposed."

Those with an interest in the subject can check for themselves in the archives of uk.business.agriculture fully searchable on Google Groups.

MRSA st398 - Start of a New Epidemic?

2011-10-17T10:59:00.000+01:00

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We start what will be a busy week for all those determined to get to the truth behind Britain's sick pigs and the increasing dangers to humans.

The article was from Arizona yesterday.

Veterinarians still claim Britain's pigs do not have MRSA st398.

This, will of course, be exposed in due course for a long and sustained cover-up with associated serious criminal activity.

The article suggests the mechanism by which its existence in British livestock may be proved and dated with sequencing and a phylogenetic tree.

Then what do we do?

What do we do with the pigs, the carrying vets and the victims?

Be sure to read the whole article here

Drug-Resistant Staph Infections in Europe Could Mark Start of a New Epidemic

By Robin Lloyd | October 16, 2011 |

Drug-Resistant Staph Infections in Europe Could Mark Start of a New
Epidemic

FLAGSTAFF, Arizona—A relatively new type of drug-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus could represent the world’s next bacterial
epidemic, an environmental health expert said here today at a
conference for science writers.

The superbug, called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
strain 398, or MRSA ST398, was first identified in an infant in the
Netherlands in 1994 and traced back to her family’s pigs. Now,
researchers are starting to see more serious infections and some of
the cases reveal no direct link to livestock, said Lance B. Price,
director of The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), in
Flagstaff.

“The rate of human [ST398] infections is going up in Denmark and the
Netherlands,” Price said. “We are just looking at the beginning of an
epidemic.” Price made his comments during a presentation at the 49th
annual New Horizons in Science meeting, organized by the Council for
the Advancement of Science Writing.

The mechanism for transmission in these newer ST398 cases currently is
unknown. Researchers are considering various explanations including
human-to-human exposure, contaminated meat or changes in the organism
that make it spread more easily, Price said. Already, ST398 was
recently found in about half of the pigs and farmers tested in
Iowa....

Hepatitis E in Spanish pig herds

2011-10-14T16:31:00.000+01:00

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For years we have been campaigning publicly for Britain's
pigs to be tested for Hepatitis E and for the results to be released
to the public

We know that we have been losing pig farmers to Hepatitis E.

Britain's corrupt vetocracy has farmers' blood on its hands.

Full report here

Widespread distribution of hepatitis E virus in Spanish pig herds

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is a serious health problem in
developing countries and is also increasingly reported in
industrialized regions. HEV is considered a zoonotic agent and strains
isolated from swine and human sources are genetically similar.

Thus, HEV is of increasing importance to both public and animal
health. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the distribution
of HEV in a large population of pigs from herds located in different
autonomous regions throughout Spain.

Results: The presence of anti-HEV IgG antibodies was analyzed in 1141
swine serum samples (corresponding to 381 pigs younger than 6 months
and 760 pigs older than 6 months) collected from 85 herds.

Herds were located in 6 provinces in 4 autonomous regions throughout
Spain. At least one pig tested positive for anti-HEV IgG in over 80%
of herds.

Of individual pigs, 20.4% (233/1141) were positive for anti-HEV IgG,
with the prevalence being higher in adult pigs than in those under 6
months (30.2% vs. 15.5%).

A subset of serum samples taken at 2- to 5-week intervals showed that
seroprevalence dropped between 3 and 11 weeks of age, and then rose
significantly by the 15th week. Pigs were also examined for the
presence of HEV-RNA by RT-PCR.

Of pigs tested for the presence of HEV-RNA 18.8% (64/341) were
positive, with at least one pig in almost half of the herds testing
positive. HEV-RNA amplicons from several positive pigs were sequenced
and all were of genotype 3.

Conclusions: HEV was found to be widely distributed among swine farms
across Spain, with the prevalence being highest among animals older
than 6 months.

These results indicate that HEV infection either is or is likely to
become endemic in the Spanish swine population.

Author: Nereida Jimenez de OyaIgnacio de BlasAna-Belen BlazquezMiguel
Martin-AcebesNabil HalaihelOlivia GironesJuan-Carlos SaizEstela
Escribano-Romero
Credits/Source: BMC Research Notes 2011, 4:412

MRSA in Pigs now self-sufficient

2011-10-14T16:15:00.000+01:00

Pig MRSA is now self-sufficient too. It no longer needs sick pigs and greedy panicking veterinarians frantically over-feeding antibiotics to pose a risk to humans.

Report here

13 October 2011 -The MRSA bacterium, which is resistant to antibiotics, has spread rapidly in the past few years on pig farms. Extensive use of antibiotics is thought to help it spread, but reducing the use of antibiotics is not enough to eliminate MRSA on pig farms, says Els Broens in her doctoral thesis.

At the beginning of 2007 the incidence of MRSA on pig farms stood at 30 percent, but by the end of 2008 it had gone up to 75 percent, Brons reports. Large pig farms (with more than 500 sows) were particularly likely to be MRSA positive. The bacterium is transported from farm to farm in livestock trucks. Many pigs also become infected on the way to the abattoir, because the MRSA bacterium is present in other pigs in the truck. Pig farmers and abattoir workers can become infected with the bacterium too, if they come into contact with live pigs. Abattoir staff who only work with dead pigs do not run any risk, says to Broens.

In order to cut the transmission of MRSA from pigs to humans, the bacterium needs to be combatted at source: on the farm. Only reducing antibiotic use will not solve the problem says Broens, because the resistant bacteria can spread and thrive among pigs that have not had any antibiotics. Besides reducing antibiotic use, Broens argues for hygiene measures in order to prevent the spread of resistant bacteria on and between pig farms. This requires a joint plan by farmers, politicians, supermarkets and vets, says the PhD candidate.

Els Broens is due to receive her PhD on 28 October from Mart de Jong, professor of Quantitative Veterinary Epidemiology.

MRSA st398 - The Emergence of Swine-associated MRSA

2011-10-12T15:55:00.000+01:00

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"A Dangerous Piggyback Ride"

The Emergence of Swine-associated MRSA

John M. Balbus MD MPH
American Public Health Association
San Diego.

An interesting slide show from the USA. We are told that it was originally given as a lecture to the American Public Health Association meeting in 2008: three years ago

See slide show here. Don't miss the associated notes. You need to scroll down the page.

Slide 20 makes it clear that ST398 was known to be in Britain.

You will find references to MRSA st398 in children in Scotland in this blog and in the newsgroup uk.business.agriculture. We also noted that this outbreak had been hidden up for for six months, see here.

When I was a lad, just starting out, we still had many WW1 survivors still at work, one of whom was fond of quoting this about government secrecy:

"Shush! It's a secret. We know, Jerry knows, even the bloody Mesopotamians know, but it is still a secret."

We wonder if anyone has told Britain's government veterinarians that everyone knows they are hiding up a scandal: one that is going to rock the world and knock them off their pedestal.

Should not have done it, should they? They were always bound to get caught.

The length of time they have deliberately misled the British public on such a serious matter must be some kind of record. It knocks spots off the secret of the human E.Coli 0157 epidemic in Britain earlier this year. That was a mere seven months of deceit and cover-up.

MRSA in British pigs - Movement?

2011-10-08T13:46:00.000+01:00

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We can't expect Britain's vetocracy to come out of their bunker hands held high and owning up to MRSA in British pigs.

That's too much to ask after so many years of positive PR and silence.

They covered up a British human E.Coli outbreak this year, see here, That must have brought a cold wind to veterinary consciences and common sense.

People are getting hurt, and sometimes killed, by zoonotic disease emanating from livestock, not least pigs.

It's no time for cover-ups, especially where the culprits hide behind the bastion of Crown Immunity and leave their colleagues to face the gathering storm.

Anyway from this passage, do British pigs have MRSA or not?

Full article here:

"Antibiotic resistance and pig production - is there a link?

...MRSA was first found in the UK in 1959; since 2005, it has also been linked to the pig industry, when Dutch research showed that MRSA had entered the human chain through direct contact with pigs. Soon it was found that about 25% of pig producers carried MRSA bacteria, mainly CC398, not previously found in man. This sparked many researchers around the world to find out whether the bacteria can also be found on pig and other livestock producers around the globe. Research confirmed the connection in most EU countries, as well as in Canada and the USA...."

It does not answer the question, does it?

But it does suggest that it is a legitimate question to ask why MRSA st398 (cc 398) has not been found in British pigs.

A question that should have been answered properly, promptly and fully by government, many years ago.

The reality is that anyone not wanting to find disease, does not look properly, and then later suggests that it came from someone who did investigate properly and did find disease that they admitted publicly.

Easy to do, of course, but not one to stand hostile scrutiny or make you many friends.

Anyway, the last chance to do that has now passed and the British vetocracy has little option but to come clean and perhaps save a few human lives.

Pig MRSA - the genie is out of the bottle

2011-10-07T16:29:00.000+01:00

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Mechanical Translation from Dutch.

"Studies on transmission of MRSA showed that v-v-MRSA can spread quickly and easily maintain and pig populations, even if no antibiotics are used."

Source here

Title of thesis
Livestock-associated methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus in pigs - prevalence, risk factors and transmission dynamics

Drs. EM (Els) Broens: Veegerelateerde MRSA in pigs

October 28, 2011 1:30 p.m.
Location: Aula, building 362, Gen.. Foulkesweg 1, Wageningen
Organisation: Wageningen University
Supervisor: Prof. MCM de Jong (Quantitative Veterinary Epidemiology)
Co-Promotor: Dr. ir EAM Graat, Dr AW van de Giessen

Reason for this research was the discovery of a link between patients with methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the "hospital bacteria", and contact with pigs. Our research showed that these veegerelateerde (v-) MRSA was present on the majority of Dutch pig farms (70%) and that larger companies are more likely V-positive MRSA than smaller companies. Company size appears to be a collection of risk factors larger firms more often positive. Trolleys in waiting areas and distributes V-MRSA within a few hours from slaughter pigs by contact with infected animals or a positive environment. Six percent of slaughterhouse staff tested positive for v-MRSA and found that all people who work with live pigs. Studies on transmission of MRSA showed that v-v-MRSA can spread quickly and easily maintain and pig populations, even if no antibiotics are used.
________________________________________
Title of thesis
Livestock-associated methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus in pigs - prevalence, risk factors and transmission dynamics

Sick as a pig (and in Britain too!)

2011-10-05T10:03:00.004+01:00

The writer continues to be amazed that In Britain MRSA st398 is still seen as a foreign threat thanks to our lying thieving megalomaniac veterinarians.

You would have thought that after the recent human E.Coli outbreak cover up, see here, that Britain would have cottoned on to the fact that you cannot trust Britain’s veterinarians, Health Protection Agency or Food Standards Agency.

Shakespeare’s infection from abroad "This fortress built by Nature for herself Against infection..." has a lot to answer for.

It is so embedded in the British public subconscious that diseases come from abroad, they simply cannot envisage the threat from professionals within.

“What civilised country would allow its public servants to cover up epidemics threatening human lives for a dozen years?”

It can’t happen, but it did and in Britain.

We need to start building the gaols. We can cut down the quality of the building. They need a dose of the conditions they condemned the pigs and the people to suffer before they died in agony and squalor.

There is a film and more behind a pay wall for those inclined.

The Ecologist article here

http://www.theecologist.org/investigations/food_and_farming/268866/sick_as_a_pig.html

Sick as a pig

Jim Wickens

26th March, 2009

Another strain of MRSA is emerging from the factory farms of Northern Europe, and it is linked to the insatiable demand for cheap meat on our plates. The Ecologist Film Unit investigates

It remains to be seen whether farm-animal-acquired strains of MRSA will soon be affecting people in the UK

It is a landscape of clinical efficiency. Flat, square fields, neatly interspersed with row upon row of anonymous factory units, greet the passer-by. Behind the silent facades, every building contains thousands of farm animals. It could be veal calves, turkeys or chickens, but in this region of the Netherlands, close to Eindhoven, it is predominantly pigs. The Netherlands has a higher concentration of farm animals per square kilometre than any country on the planet, and these farms are now at the frontline of a new battle against MRSA.

‘Community-acquired’ or ‘farm animal’ MRSA has a grim track record. Commonly causing skin infections, this strain of bacteria can also cause pneumonia, bone infections and endocarditis. And in the Netherlands it is spreading. ‘What we have seen here in our region is a rise of MRSA-positive patients, from an average of 40 or 50 MRSA-positive patients in this entire region in a year to last year 224, and about 60 per cent of those are animal-related MRSA,’ says Mireille Wulf, a microbiologist based in Eindhoven.

Recent studies have shown that between 30 and 50 per cent of all pig farmers in the Netherlands carry the bacteria….

E.Coli 0157 Britain hides human epidemic for seven months

2011-09-30T15:21:00.000+01:00

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At a time when Germany and France were publicising E.Coli epidemics, Britain has finally admitted that it covered up an epidemic of a different zoonotic strain, with at least 250 victims, many hospitalised and with one death.

You can read either the public statement from the Health Protection Agency here

the Guardian's measured tones here

or the Daily Mail's outrage here

Some previous blogs from the writer mentioning E.Coli can be found here, here, and here,

Other information can be gathered from his frequent posts on the controversial British newsgroup uk.business.agriculture, fully searchable through Google Groups

The secrecy will be due to the fear that it would be traced to livestock, so it has not been traced and was kept secret.

The row is just gathering pace now, with politicians, press and public condemning the secrecy.

It is, indeed, quite disgraceful.

The story helps support the writer's eleven year campaign to expose crime and corruption within Britain's veterinary industries and associated government departments.

Much worse is to come.

Hepatitis E in British sausages

2011-09-24T15:48:00.000+01:00

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Things get worse. Sausages and sausage meat are a staple foods in Britain.

This is a story we have been covering for over a year. Even the Daily Telegraph reported here almost a year ago under the headline:

Virus warning over undercooked pork after three die

Our previous warnings came

here,
Hepatitis E in veterinarians and pork

here,
Hepatitis E - three dead, 55 infected - linked to pig farming

here
Hepatitis E - three dead - story goes national

and here.
Hepatitis E infections soar

As usual, nobody did anything about advising the public about an obvious risk to humans from animal related disease. Many handle uncooked sausages and sausage meat

Anyway, the latest research activity can be read in full here

Investigation of the prevalence of hepatitis E virus contamination through the pork food supply chain in England

12-Sep-2011

S. Grierson, F. Martelli, A. Berto, M. Banks. Investigation of the prevalence of hepatitis e virus contamination through the pork food supply chain in England. 6th International Symposium on Emerging and Re-emerging Pig Diseases: 53

Swine hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is widespread in pig herds worldwide. Infected pigs excrete large quantities of virus in the faeces, and HEV RNA has been detected in retail pig liver in several countries. In addition to the liver, HEV RNA has been detected in extra-hepatic sites in the pig including stomach, small intestine, colon, spleen, kidney, lung and muscle. Although asymptomatic in pigs there is growing evidence for zoonotic transmission of HEV as a cause of autochthonous hepatitis E in developed countries.

...The VLA role was to investigate HEV contamination in the pork food chain in England.

Samples were tested for the presence of HEV (target virus) and Porcine Adenovirus (PAdV; indicator of faecal contamination). Three points in the food supply chain were sampled, collecting faeces and liver samples at the production stage (abattoir), muscle samples at site of processing (meat processing plant) and sausage samples from point of sale. In addition, surface swabs were collected from these premises, in areas where viral contamination was considered more likely.

HEV was detected at all three points of the pork food supply chain, and with the exception of point of sale, the prevalence of HEV relative to PAdV would be consistent with a potential faecal contamination source. Six of 63 (9.5%) sausages tested had detectable HEV RNA: all six positive samples identified were from one of three batches of sausages that had been collected. In terms of foodborne transmission of HEV these represent the most significant findings. Available data suggests that the consumption of raw / undercooked sausage is a potential route of HEV transmission. Crucially, it is not known if HEV that was detected in this study was viable and this will now be investigated using in vitro cell culture. Information on the viability of the virus will be critical in the assessment of the risk to public health of HEV contamination in the pork food supply chain.

MRSA in Pigs and Humans - no comfort

2011-09-21T11:52:00.000+01:00

A weblog from an important pig farming magazine, Pig Progress, published in the Netherlands, but with a strong British veterinary presence, highlights the rift between Continental European and American pig industries on the link between antibiotic use in pigs and human health.

The Europeans are convinced that the data shows dangers to humans, the American pig veterinarians remain in denial.

The Continental Europeans and Americans have admitted MRSA in their pigs and pork: the Dutch and Danes leading the way.

Britain remains covering it up, still sticking to the official line that British pigs and pork do not have or carry MRSA, despite having done no credible tests.

Britain remains a black hole of veterinary ignorance and deceit, missing and faked data and, ominously, organised crime. Cover-ups and intimidation are still the order of the day.

British hospitals, unlike American and Continental European facilities, remain ignorant of the risks and unprotected from animal derived MRSA and antibiotic disease.

The British media won't publish, too dependant on Defra, Britain's hopeless agricultural ministry and their powerful vets, to dare to expose the scandals.

The United Kingdom is now so badly out of step with the rest of the western world, that the cover-ups can't last. The scandal will end in a blaze of world-wide publicity and investigations.

Read the full weblog here

WEBLOGS

A little word of comfort

//19 Sep 2011

Author: Vincent ter Beek

Last Friday, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) sent out a brief statement on antibiotics, from its president Doug Wolf. His tone of voice was comforting – the NPPC knew.

Wolf commented on a recent report by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) on antibtiotic resistance, which stated that no direct relationship had been found linking antibiotic use in food animals to antibiotic resistance in humans..."there isn’t even adequate data to conduct a study."

... In Europe, different conclusions have been drawn from this.

In Europe, the possibility of a link has led to very strong reactions. EU-wide there has been a a ban of antimicrobials as growth promoter since 2006, and Denmark and the Netherlands are even trying to clamp down the usage of antimicrobials for medication as well.

President Wolf’s tone of voice, however, was one of comfort and reassurance...

It’s exactly that reassuring tone of voice that makes me feel a bit funny...

...But it is a fact that the use of antibiotics in food animals can lead to antibiotic resistance in food animals. That, I feel, may need more than just words of comfort.

MRSA st398 (cc398) in hosts and country

2011-09-19T16:20:00.000+01:00

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It is good to see a reference to the importance of geography in respect of MRSA st398.

It makes it all the more irritating to see a black hole of veterinary ignorance, certainly not MRSA absence, over Britain.

Close contact too. Interesting stuff for those prepared to work to protect the hospitals from the impact of zoonotic disease in intensive farming.and associated veterinary corruption.

Full abstract here

The distribution of mobile genetic elements (MGEs) in MRSA CC398 is
associated with both host and country

" Received July 1, 2011.
" Revision received August 30, 2011.
" Accepted September 7, 2011.

Abstract
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clonal complex (CC)398 has emerged from pigs to cause human infections in Europe and North America. We used a new 62-strain S. aureus microarray (SAM-62) to compare genomes of isolates from three geographical areas (Belgium, Denmark and Netherlands) to understand how CC398 colonises different mammalian hosts. The core genomes of 44 pig isolates and 32 isolates from humans did not vary. However, mobile genetic element (MGE) distribution was variable including SCCmec. ?3 bacteriophage and human specificity genes (chp, sak, scn) were found in invasive human but not pig isolates. SaPI5 and putative ruminant specificity gene variants vwb, scn) were common but not pig specific. Virulence and resistance gene carriage was host-associated, but country specific. We conclude MGE exchange is frequent in CC398, and greatest amongst populations in close contact. This feature may help determine epidemiological associations amongst isolates of the same lineage.

MRSA st130 ( cc130 ) found in humans in Germany

2011-09-09T11:20:00.000+01:00

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Another strain of MRSA, already found in British livestock and humans, is reported in humans in Germany.

A few extracts from the report which drew the eye, follow.

Really it confirms what we already know: antibiotic resistant strains are moving from livestock into humans, with the facts and the risks massively under-reported in Britain.

British veterinarians do not want the risks or their role reported, and hijack the mass media with platitudes.

The problems do not generally get reported in Britain. After many years of cover-up by Defra, the British agriculture ministry, the real situation is bound to emerge.

It will be the veterinary organisations who are sitting on the pressure valve. British veterinary science is still in serious trouble and the situation is rapidly deteriorating.

Full report here

Rare Occurrence of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus CC130 with a Novel mecA Homologue in Humans in Germany

Christiane Cuny, Franziska Layer, Birgit Strommenger,Wolfgang Witte^*

Wernigerode Branch, Robert Koch Institute, Wernigerode, Germany

Abstract Top

MRSA CC130 containing the mecA homologue mecA_LGA251 were reported from the UK and from Denmark so far from cattle and humans. Here we report on 11 MRSA CC130 among a sample of 12691 isolates of human origin collected from January 2006 until June 2011. MRSA CC130 grew insufficiently on chromogernic agar plates for detection of MRSA; the agglutination test for presence of PBP2a was negative. We designed primers for specific detection of mecA_LGA251 as well as for concomitant detection of both, mec_LGA251 and mecA. As already described, the isolates exhibited spa-types t843, t1736, and t1773. The ccrA homologue indicated the presence SCCmec_XI. When subjected to further characterization by means of a commercially available microarray the isolates were negative for sak chp, and scn, and as expected positive for hla, untruncated hlb, and hld. They furthermore contained edinB, aur, slpA, slpB, slpE. From genes coding for surface and cell wall associated products the ica-operon, cap8, clfA, clfF,ebpS, fnbA, fnbB, sdrC were detected but not cna. The isolates were negative for enterotoxin genes and tst, as well as for eta, and etb; agr-type was III.

… Earlier studies based on phenotypic characterization suggested that S. aureus from cattle and from humans are unrelated [7]. This was confirmed by molecular typing for clonal lineages ST97 and ST705 of bovine origin, which seem to be pandemic [8], [9]. Mastitis associated lineages ST151 and ST133 seem to be frequent in the United Kingdom (UK) and in Denmark [10], [11]. However the majority of isolates from these lineages remained methicillin susceptible…

… Another example for a clonal lineage with no restricted host specificity is S. aureus ST130 which represents a smaller fraction among S. aureus from mastitis in cattle in UK and more recently also MRSA ST130 from humans have been described [17], [18]. Interestingly these MRSA contain the mecA homologue mec_LGA251 which is not detected by PCR established for detection of mecA. When human isolates exhibiting MRSA phenotype but negative PCR for mecA were tested, mecA_LGA251 was also detected among MRSA from humans in England and in Denmark. Here we report about the emergence of MRSA ST130 in infections in humans in Germany at low frequencies…

…Although MRSA ST130 have not been reported from cattle in Germany so far an animal origin seems likely, this is also supported by its isolation from a nasal swab of a veterinarian in Bavaria. As reported from Denmark and from the UK MRSA ST130 is obviously able to colonize and to cause infections in both, cattle and humans

Circovirus in U.S. Swine

2011-09-04T19:33:00.000+01:00

This report goes a long way towards explaining why the former President of the OIE criticised Britain in 2001 for failing to make a circovirus (PMWS) epidemic notifiable. (details recorded on the British newsgroup uk.business.agriculture, fully searchable by Google Groups)

Circovirus is nasty. They thought it then and they were right.

He must have known that Britain's devious government veterinarians were too busy covering up to think beyond blaming the innocent for the Classical Swine Fever and, Foot and Mouth epidemics the following year. We knew, and the writer gave evidence to both the Westminster Parliament and OLAF, the serious Fraud Squad of the European Union, accordingly.

Circovirus seems to have arrived in Britain in 1999, probably from Canada. The point of first infection seems to be variously stated as Northern Ireland, Cornwall or East Anglia. It probably does not matter, it spread quickly.

Anyway, the Americans are now on the case.

Modern testing on old samples will trace the path of transmission.

Full Report here

A R E T R O S P E C T I V E S E R O L O G I C A L SU R V E Y O F P C V 2

EX P O S U R E I N U . S . F E R A L SW I N E

29 August 2011

Nearly all domestic swine herds are infected with Porcine Circovirus 2 (PCV2) worldwide. Although infection with the virus does not always cause disease, a suite of porcine circovirus associated syndromes and diseases (e.g., postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome) may occur in domestic swine when coinfections with PCV2 exist or various environmental (husbandry) or genetic (sow) risk factors are present.

Vertical and horizontal transmission of PCV2 have been documented, and fecal/oral transmission has been identified as the most important route of infection within domestic swine facilities. Limited geographic sampling of feral swine in the U.S. has shown that PCV2 exposure in feral swine may mirror exposure levels seen in domestic swine herds, although many questions remain unanswered. In some areas, the relatively high apparent prevalence of PCV2 antibodies in feral swine is suggestive of efficient transmission of the virus within populations, or among feral and domestic populations.

In an effort to further elucidate the geographic distribution of PCV2 in feral swine and its association with domestic swine production, the NWDP initiated a retrospective survey of feral swine populations from 72 counties in 18 states representing a range of domestic swine production levels. Over 2495 samples from the NWDP's feral swine serum archive are being tested by the Rollins Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in North Carolina for antibodies to PCV2 .

Preliminary results suggest that statewide PCV2 prevalence in feral swine may exceed 50% and that the majority of the states contain PCV2 infected feral swine. Once testing is complete, the NWDP also will evaluate if PCV2 exposure is correlated with exposure to other endemic swine diseases. If so, exposure to PCV2 in feral swine may assist in evaluating risk of disease transmission to transitional or domestic swine herds.

For additional information on this survey when it becomes available, please contact Brandon Schmit.

Denmark - Rise in MRSA st398 - Porcine MRSA in People

2011-09-01T16:52:00.000+01:00

More bad news about Porcine MRSA moving from pigs to people

comes from Denmark.

Britain's corrupt government veterinarians still refuse to test or admit

that British pigs have MRSA, so nothing will be done to protect

British hospitals.

More or less every other country has admitted MRSA in their

pigs for years and are are doing what they can to deal with the

problem.

Denmark has the done the most and has clean hospitals and much

healthier pigs: they control the antibiotics used on their farms as you

can see from earlier reports on this blog, but things are still not right.

Britain's notorious agriculture ministry, DEFRA, does nothing but sit

on their hands and attempt to discredit anyone daring to complain

about this appalling situation.

MRSA cc398 is usually referred to as MRSA st398 in the English

speaking countries.

Extract from longer media release here translated by Google

Translate.

...Rise in MRSA of porcine type

In 2010, the incidence of MRSA studied in approximately 100 pig
farms, 200 chickens, 200 cattleat abattoirs. There was not found
MRSA in either chickens or cattle, while there was found MRSA

in 16% of pig herds - all of the so-called CC398 type pig type that
can be transmitted from pigs to people.

The number of people infected with MRSA of porcine type CC398
increased from 40 in 2009 to 109 in 2010. MRSA CC398
accounted for 10% of all new MRSA cases in 2010.

Until 2010, most people with MRSA CC398 had contact with pigs,
but in 2010 was 15 cases of CC398 found in individuals who do
not had had contact with pigs. There is still no evidence that MRSA
CC398 spreads to real urban areas or that it be transferred from
meat to humans.

"It is important to prevent the occurrence of MRSA in pigs increases,
because we produce a large number of pigs in Denmark, and pigs
are the main reservoir for MRSA CC398, "says senior Yvonne Agersø
from National Food Institute.

"It is worrying that 14% of new cases do not have direct contact with
pigs. It may indicate that bacterium is about to change, so it rubs
easily from human to human, "points out Robert Forest

Porcine Circovirus - changing genome challenges pig immune systems

2011-08-28T12:33:00.000+01:00

Scroll up the page to read the Gardiner Hypothesis. The writer did not think that that some years ago, long after retirement, he would produce an hypothesis that is well on the way to being proved.

Porcine Circovirus did indeed prove to be one very nasty disease complex, capable of many manifestations and changes.

Herein lie the clues to the constant animal and human epidemics plaguing Britain and hospitals and pig farming worldwide.

The end of an exhausting and dangerous eleven year struggle is now in sight.

We should have controlled the activities of a greedy and reckless veterinary industry and they should have abandoned vicious cover-ups run by devious British government veterinarians.

But they thought it easier to harass, libel and persecute a retired man trying to live a quiet rural idyll.

And spend other peoples' money on a PR barrage to cover up pig disease dangerous to humans.

Britain's hopelessly corrupt vetocracy badly misjudged that line of organised crime too.

Alas, Porcine Circovirus is a genie that is going to resist being put back into the bottle.

Full abstract here

http://jvi.asm.org/cgi/content/short/JVI.05156-11v1?rss=1

JVI Accepts, published online ahead of print on 24 August 2011
J. Virol. doi:10.1128/JVI.05156-11

Porcine circovirus 2 major genotype group members' co-replication as a prerequisite to co-evolution that may explain the variable disease manifestations

ABSTRACT

A member of the Circoviridae family, porcine circovirus type2 (PCV2) is associated with postweaning multisystemic wastingsyndrome (PMWS), a recent emerging disease worldwide. PCV2 isalso found in clinical asymptomatic animals. This paradoxicalfinding makes the syndrome etiology challenging.We developednew assays to study PCV2...

... Unexpectedly, all PCV2 infectedanimals carried both PCV2a and PCV2b genotype group members.Using confocal microscopy, genotype single cell infections andcell superinfections were visible. Additionally, we discriminatedreplicative DNA from total PCV2 DNA isoforms with FISH...

^...In infected cells with replicating virus, both genotype groupswere equally present. These findings suggest PCV2 genotype groupmembers relaxed replication regulation requirements and, mayeven point to PCV2 replication cooperativity in vivo. Theseobservations explain the readily seen PCV2 DNA recombinationsand the high overall PCV2 genome plasticity. Hence, we suggesta novel mechanism to syndrome etiology that consists of a continuouslychanging PCV2 genome pool in hosts and pig herds posing a constantchallenge to individual maturing immune system.

MRSA in Canadian pigs, veterinarians and pork

2011-08-23T12:35:00.001+01:00

In reports, currently being commented on in North America, but dating from a year ago, we encounter a new name for piggy MRSA: “Canadian epidemic MRSA” (CMRSA).

We also get an unusually clear admission of the source of the problems in the discussion section.

At least the Canadians know they have problems, if not the true scale.

In Britain, improbably, the government veterinarians still claim British pigs are clear of MRSA.

They have not yet plucked up the courage to face the full brunt of public anger at the long standing deception.

The whole report can be found here

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) contamination of retail pork

Recent reports of isolation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from food animals

have raised concern about the potential for foodborne transmission. This study evaluated the prevalence of MRSA contamination of retail pork from 4 Canadian provinces...

....This study has determined that MRSA contamination of retail meat is not uncommon in Canada and is similar to that reported in other studies. While there was a significant difference in the prevalence between provinces, MRSA was found in pork products in every province.

The reason for the difference in prevalence between provinces is unclear. Currently, the only study of MRSA in pigs in Canada involved farms in Ontario, and information about the prevalence of MRSA in pigs in other provinces is required to help interpret this finding.

The typing data were interesting and raise questions regarding the origin of contamination. The finding of PFGE nontypable spa 539/t034 MRSA, which has been previously identified as belonging to ST398, was expected as it is commonly reported in pigs internationally (4,6,10,20) and has been found in retail meat (11,12). It is reasonable to assume that ST398 contamination of meat is from pigs, either directly (deposition of MRSA from the animal onto meat during slaughter) or indirectly (environmental contamination resulting in subsequent food contamination).

However, since ST398 MRSA colonization rates of pig farmers and pig veterinarians are high (6,10,21), it is also possible that slaughterhouse workers have high colonization rates, and that those individuals could have been the source of contamination, even though they may have ultimately acquired MRSA from pigs...

VETERINARY MRSA

2011-08-17T11:44:00.000+01:00

Renaming zoonotic diseases and strains, to confuse the general public, and justify ignoring a problem has been one of the more disgraceful veterinary practices in recent years.

We have constantly complained publicly over many years over the situation in Britain. Here is an article from 2009: 'MRSA - No Pets or Flying Veterinarians.'

Once in a while, common sense strikes back, in this case in the most apt and unexpected way:

"VETERINARY MRSA"

Love it! The Dutch government veterinarians continue to come out of this crisis as honest, frank and reliable: professionals with integrity.

They played it straight and will get benefits denied Britain and its devious public relations obsessed veterinary establishment.

Public Relations is about telling the truth, not misleading the public. Britain's vets seem to have missed that bit.

The Dutch know that veterinarians carry MRSA from farm to farm to livestock and farmer, and take it home to their children and into the hospitals. They deal with the problem like adults, not hide it up.

Source here Translated from Dutch.

Characterization of Veterinary MRSA: Virulence and transmissibility

Part of the program	Infectious Disease
File number	125010003

Summary

Since 2003 a new clone of MRSA (NT-MRSA) That is related to an extensification reservoir in pigs and cattle HAS emerged in The Netherlands. People who are in direct contact with pigs and calves frequently carry this clone. By the end of 2006 nearly 25% of all MRSA strains sent to the national reference center were of this type. There are Indications That this clone Has A reduced transmissibility from human to human, All which would 1) limit its impact on public health and 2) modified justify Control Measures.

The objective of this project is to determining the transmissibility and Virulence or NT-MRSA in comparison with other MRSA strains.

In this prospective study we are Will Investigate how many household members or persons who are carrying MRSA are colonized NT (secondary attack rate) and compare this with household members or other Those who are carrying MRSA strains. Also the occurrence of medical events Will Be Measured During one year to an estimate Regarding the providence Virulence.

MRSA Carriers and Their Relatives Will Be visited by a representative of the public health agency who will take a questionnaire and micro-biological samples. The number of secondary cases in the household is the main outcome measure to determining the secondary attack rate.

The number of infections Occurring Within one year of follow-up is a secondary outcome measure for evaluation of Strain Virulence; other secondary outcomes in this study are part of the antibiotic treatment, duration and Hospitality Localization of MRSA carriage.

The results of this study optimalize Will Be Used to Control Measures for the MRSA.

Involved

Role	Name	Organization
Project leader and coordinator	Prof. Dr. JAJW Kluytmans	VU University Medical Center
Main applicant	Prof. Dr. JAJW Kluytmans	Amphia Hospital
Administrative head	Prof. Vandenbroucke-Grauls Dr CMJE	VU University Medical Center

C.Diff 027 endemic in Chicago hospitals

2011-08-13T10:11:00.000+01:00

Because of the multiple naming, it is easy to miss that this is the same strain that has killed many in British hospitals and that has caused constant outbreaks in Canada, especially Quebec and Ontario.

O27 otherwise NAP1 or BI

C.Diff is also found in pigs, and all the areas most impacted are also pig farming centres with sick pigs. Multiple names for the same conditions are favoured by the American pig industry too, “for PR reasons.”

Scientists can’t be so blind as to miss an obvious connection, or can they?

Pig health is indeed the biggest scandal of the 21^st century. Mankind probably will do worse, but they will have to make a considerable effort.

The USA will be kicking itself. They took too much on trust and they were warned six years ago. Some of their people have questions to answer too. The evidence is all out there.

The full article may be found here

Investigators Discover Outbreak C. difficile Strain is Endemic in Chicago Hospitals

An outbreak strain of Clostridium difficile, a bacterium that causes diarrhea and sometimes life-threatening inflammation of the colon, is common in Chicago-area acute care hospitals, an investigation published in the September issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology suggests.

In response to Illinois Department of Public Health reports of rising rates of C. difficile infection as a hospital discharge diagnosis, the Chicago and Cook County health departments surveyed 25 Chicago-area hospitals over one month in 2009. They identified 263 total cases of C. difficile illness. Of 129 C. difficile isolates cultured from these patients, 61 percent were the outbreak C. difficile strain known as BI/NAP1.

The BI strain, which is known to cause more serious illness, is usually associated with large acute outbreaks of C. difficile. However this investigation suggests that BI is endemic in the Chicago area and patients could be at risk for severe disease even in the absence of a large acute outbreak....

...C. difficile is most common in elderly patients and those receiving treatment with antibiotics. It is considered to be one of the most important health care-related infections in the U.S....

A year since MRSA found in Swedish pigs

2011-08-11T11:29:00.000+01:00

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We can continue to be amazed that Defra, Britain's agricultural ministry, are still getting away with avoiding finding MRSA in British pigs.

They are going to have a hell of a job owning up to sick pigs now. The lowest production figures per sow in Western Europe give the game away. They are difficult to hide and impossible to explain away.

Britain's veterinary establishment is going to come under hostile scrutiny when finally they are forced to admit the truth.

Link to Swedish radio transcript translated here

National News

Thursday August 11th, 2011 |

Onsdag 10 augusti 2011 kl 15:11 (Radio Sweden)

“Bacteria spreads between humans and animals”
Multi-resistant bacteria pig study launched (3:53)

It has been exactly a year since the first case of MRSA or Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus was first discovered in Swedish pigs. Now a new study is underway to see how prevalent the disease is.

MRSA is resistant to some of the antibiotics commonly used in humans.

Helle Unnerstad, a veterenarian working at the National Veterinary Institute, says MRSA is not a big threat to human health in Sweden, but that it might be a risk for people working with a lot of pigs.

Today no one has any idea how many animals have MRSA in Sweden. That is why the National Veterinary Institute and the Swedish Animal Health Service is starting a study to answer that question.

Sten-Olof Dimander is the managing director for the Swedish Animal Health Service, a company owned by the large meat producing firms in Sweden.

Dimander says his company’s job is to assure that animals used in meat production are of high quality.

The study they are doing will look at the sixty breeding farms in Sweden that produce baby pigs for the rest of Sweden’s pig farms.

“So if we can screen these sixty farms then hopefully we can see that these farms are free from MRSA and then we can ensure that slaughter pigs are also free from MRSA,” he says.

But history has shown that once MRSA enters a country, it’s hard to minimize its spread.

Bjorn Olsen, a professor at the Department of Infectious Diseases at Uppsala University hospital, researches antibiotic resistance. He says humans are to blame for the spread of MRSA. “If you have a big monoculture of several thousand pigs in a big barn you’ll inevitably have infections in that population and then you treat them by increasing the amount of antibiotics,” he says. “This promotes the development of MRSA.”

But Sten-Olof Dimander at the Swedish Animal Health Service says this is how modern pig production is done today.

With the continued growth of modern farming practices and humans’ increasing appetite for animal products, experts say it will only become more difficult to stop the spread of infectious diseases like MRSA.

NyckelordHealth

CSF - the aniversary of the 2000 Classical Swine Fever epidemic

2011-08-07T19:19:00.001+01:00

Today, the 8^th August, is the anniversary of Classical Swine Fever being found in English Pigs in 2000.

CSF was the second of a series of three British pig epidemics. It arrived into pigs already sick with Circovirus (PMWS – PDNS).

The third, the even more disastrous Foot and Mouth disease, became an epidemic the following February at a huge human, animal and financial cost. It even delayed a general election before being finally overcome.

But Circovirus remains to this very day, needing huge quantities of antibiotics to deal with co-infections. The antibiotics give rise to antibiotic resistant disease: dangerous to livestock, their keepers and public health.

Circovirus is the reason why British pig productivity is 20-25 per cent per sow below the near European continental farmers. It is not bad breeding, inadequate feed, or bad husbandry: it is endemic disease.

Carcase weight (kg) per sow per year

Great Britain	1,608
Denmark	2,075
Netherlands	2,279
France	2,109
Germany	1,993
Ireland	1,789
EU Ave	2,000

Source: Pig Cost of Production in Selected Countries, 2009

Immediate source of above cost of carcase weight statistics here

MRSA st398 - Pigs - a reservoir for people and poultry

2011-07-28T10:12:00.000+01:00

Belgians publishing research that would have been done in Britain but for the fact that Britain's useless government vets can't find any livestock with MRSA st398 to test.

It would be pointless looking because they have decided that Britain's healthy pigs do not have MRSA.

It's an argument that pleases them. We will see how they get on in court when the British Government faces massive claims for compensation after eleven years of veterinary deceit.

It will be interesting to see how they explain why British pork productivity per pig is about 25 percent lower than Belgium's.

If the Belgian pigs have MRSA, something that has been admitted for years, and yet produce much more pork, imagine the real situation in Britain.

Anyway, the dangers of maintaining a reservoir of MRSA infected pigs to man and other species neatly exposed by the capable Belgians.

Full extract here

Infect Genet Evol. 2011 Jul 18. [Epub ahead of print]

Screening of poultry-pig farms for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: Sampling methodology and within herd prevalence in broiler flocks and pigs.

Pletinckx LJ, Verhegghe M, Dewulf J, Crombé F, De Bleecker Y, Rasschaert G, Goddeeris BM, De Man I.

Source

Catholic University College South-West-Flanders (KATHO), Department HIVB, Wilgenstraat 32, 8800 Roeselare, Belgium; Catholic University Leuven, Department of Biosystems, Division of Gene Technology, Kasteelpark Arenberg 30 - bus 2456, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium.

Abstract

Many reports described the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in different livestock animals from one-species farms. However, in no published reports the prevalence on mixed poultry-pig farms was mentioned, nor the possible relation in MRSA colonization between those two species on one farm, and the possible role of the farmer in the dissemination of MRSA between those two species. Furthermore, no data is available on the optimal sampling site to detect MRSA in broilers. Therefore this study aimed to determine the most suitable sample location in broiler chickens for MRSA and within the flock prevalence of MRSA in various broiler flocks and compared this with the MRSA prevalence in pigs, the colonization of the farmer and the contamination in the barn environment in three mixed poultry-pig farms...

...A rather low within flock prevalence of MRSA varying between 0% and 28% was detected in broilers, whereas in pigs on the same farms the within herd prevalence varied between 82% and 92%. No MRSA contamination in the direct barn environment of the broilers was found, this in contrast to the environment of the pigs, indicating a relationship between MRSA prevalence and contamination in the environment.

Two farmers were continuously colonized, while the third one was only once. In conclusion, a major difference was seen in MRSA occurrence between broilers and pigs from the same farm...

... The farmer may play an important role in the dissemination of MRSA from pigs to poultry, especially in mixed farms where pigs are highly colonized and may act as a reservoir for MRSA ST398 carriage in humans.

Food Poisoning - Local does not mean safer.

2011-07-26T11:08:00.001+01:00

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The US food safety attorney Bill Marler makes an important point that needs to be emphasised in Britain even more than it does in the USA.

Local does not mean safer.

The vast PR machines of both the crooks and the cranks like to cloud food safety issues. It's better than admitting to MRSA, Salmonella, E.Coli etc. and having to deal with reducing risks.

As a shipping and transport man, the writer knows that on average buying local does not save food miles. The whole concept is logistically illiterate. It would take hours of complex arguments to try to counter the not unreasonable perception that local does save miles, because it seems self-evident, but it is simply a fallacy.

As a former customs agent, and heavily involved in introducing computerised customs systems to the world, he faced exactly the same problem with IIIIM (imaginary illegally imported infected meat) being the source of CSF - Classified Swine Fever and FMD - Foot and Mouth Disease in 2000 and 2001. It wasn't, but nobody in their right mind exposes border control secrets in this dangerous world. So the apparently reasonable idea that IIIIM was the cause, sponsored by corrupt veterinarians, much money and a lot of fabrication, stuck.

Farming is happy with the idea too. They don't really want the more awkward truth.

By chance, all these scandals hit on areas where the writer was an expert and had no axe to grind. By chance, he saw with his own eyes the most senior British government officials faking results and threatening anyone exposing them.

That was the writer's misfortune; it should be the world's good fortune.

We need honest experts we can trust, and truthful witnesses prepared to give evidence.

So it is left to the crooks and the cranks to battle it out supported by the ignorant and biased. The ignorant, in the proper sense of the word, will be biased if they have the wrong information. The mass of misleading information flooding the English speaking world drives the writer to despair some days.

Local is not safer and does not save food miles.

It may actually be riskier and consume more energy. Imported is not more dangerous, it may even be safer. There is no direct connection, however much many may want a convenient congenial solution for sick livestock, contaminated water supplies and dangerous food.

Anyway, here is Marler on raw milk. Another expert, but making a better job of getting his voice heard. He is lucky he is not in the world's first, only and undoubtedly last vetocracy.

By the time we have dodged Murdoch and his merry men, shaken off the libelous politburo of uk.business.agriculture, circumnavigated the NHS and managed to get out and back again, nothing is left for shouting even louder.

That is why we look to America, in their own interests if necessary, to help sort out Britain.

Who wants to live in a country where the rot starts at a top blackmailed by crooks and the lawyers of the victims are tailed through the streets in an attempt to intimidate?

The writer has been publicly called a traitor to his country for seeking help in the USA.

If that is being a traitor, it is a badge he wears with pride for defending the children of Britain from crooks.

Link to Food Safety News World here

It has been a busy week in the Food Safety News World

Posted by Bill Marler on July 25, 2011

It started out with my comments in the article - "El Dorado County farmers challenge food regulations" on the desire by some to forgo food safety oversight simply because the food is local. I had a different take: Local food isn't necessarily healthy food, said Bill Marler, a Seattle food safety attorney.

"What these kind of ordinances are trying to do is 'let me do whatever I want to do because I believe (that) because my product is local it's safe,' " Marler said. "And that's baloney."

Marler is a sponsor of www.rawmilkfacts.com, a website Lyle cited in support of state rules.

People are unaware of the dangers of uninspected foods because they don't see the consequences, Marler said. "I've been in a lot of ICUs, I've been at funerals, I've seen children die because of what's in the food," he said.

"Regulation is not a bad thing," Marler added....(more)

MRSA st398 - Pig MRSA - More resistance found

2011-07-20T16:20:00.000+01:00

More problems for Britain's corrupt State Veterinary Service, who continue to claim British pigs are free of MRSA st398.

This is a bigger scandal than Murdoch and the 'News of the World.'

The link to the source is here.

Article

New transposon Tn6133 in MRSA ST398 contains vga(E), a novel streptogramin A-, pleuromutilin-, and lincosamide-resistance gene

Sybille Schwendener, and Vincent Perreten^*

Institute of Veterinary Bacteriology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

A novel streptogramin A-, pleuromutilin-, lincosamide-resistancedeterminant, Vga(E), was identified in porcine methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus (MRSA) ST398. The vga(E) gene encodeda 524-amino acid protein belonging to the ABC transporter family.It was found on a multidrug-resistant transposon, Tn6133, whichwas comprised of the Tn554 with a stably integrated 4,787-bpDNA sequence harboring vga(E). Detection of Tn6133 in severalporcine MRSA ST398 isolates and its ability to circularize suggestsa potential for dissemination.

^* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institute of Veterinary Bacteriology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Länggass-Strasse 122, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.

Britain - Illegal Veterinary Antibiotics

2011-07-13T13:54:00.000+01:00

This article, from the important 'Pig Progress' is unusual because it spells out in detail the power of veterinarians on prescription of antibiotics and their total control of what goes into Britain’s animals.

When antibiotic resistance is found in Britain’s livestock, the blame lies with the vets. They are fully and totally responsible. They prescribed the drugs for profit.

The story can be read to suggest that smuggling of veterinary medicines, in which vets had to be involved and which the government failed to stop for six years, is responsible for antibiotic resistance in Britain's livestock, when eventually they are forced to admit MRSA in pigs and calves.

British vets, farming organisations and farming media have long shown an extraordinary fascination with smuggling. Thank goodness they know nothing about it. Whoever created the cover-ups left audit trails a mile wide.

They got away with blaming IIIIM (imaginary illegal imported infected meat) for the triple epidemics in 1999-2001, simply because nobody did the work on where the stories came from, or spotted the technical faults in the stories.

The writer was lucky, or unlucky, as a former shipbroker and customs agent, now at the epicentre of epidemics, he already knew a little about smuggling, spotted the deceptions early and reported them to the competent authorities in writing immediately.

All the evidence has been preserved safely off-shore.

Find the full article here

UK: 13 convicted - Europe’s biggest ever illegal veterinary medicine business

//12 Jul 2011

Thirteen people have been convicted in connection with Europe’s biggest ever illegal veterinary medicine business in which more than £6 million of products were smuggled to the UK, risking the health of people and animals...

...Six other key players unlawfully distributed the products on the black market to British farms, stables, kennels and vet surgeries. Three other major customers were convicted, as well as one man responsible for laundering the proceeds.

Steve Dean, Chief Executive of the Government’s Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), which prosecuted the case, said, “This was a significant commercial enterprise which seriously attacked the principle of safe and effective veterinary medicines.

“Incorrect use of medication of unknown origin and dubious quality compromises animal health and welfare, increases the risk of harmful residues in the food chain and raises the spectre of unnecessary antibiotic resistance.”

The medicines included non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, anabolic steroids, antibiotics, sedatives, and pain control treatments for a variety of species including horses, cows, sheep, pigs and household pets.

To be imported and sold for use in the UK all veterinary medicines must be authorised to ensure they are safe and effective, and many must be prescribed by a veterinary surgeon. Even where medicines are authorised they must be distributed and sold through licensed outlets where trained staff are available to provide the necessary advice on safe use...

MRSA in larger Dutch Pig Herds

2011-07-13T10:09:00.000+01:00

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This seems to settle the matter MRSA spreads from pig herd to pig herd, the larger the herd the more likely they have MRSA.

Most herds had MRSA and if the trend continued to the present day, all herds in Holland now have MRSA.

It seems impossible when almost the whole world has MRSA in its pigs, that Britain believes she remains MRSA free, thanks to the brilliance and integrity of her dedicated veterinary surgeons.

Their veterinarians have told them so in many words, in many places, over many years, whilst stuffing the pigs with antibiotics in order to keep them alive long enough to get them to Britain's dining tables.

The Dutch come out of this well: Britain's vets have questions to answer.

Access to the abstract and the full report here.

Prev Vet Med. 2011 Jul 4. [Epub ahead of print]

Prevalence and risk factor analysis of livestock associated MRSA-positive pig herds in The Netherlands.

Broens EM, Graat EA, Van Der Wolf PJ, Van De Giessen AW, De Jong MC.

Source

Quantitative Veterinary Epidemiology Group, Wageningen Institute of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 338, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands; Centre for Infectious Disease Control Netherlands, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands.

Abstract

In 2005, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was found in pig herds and in humans in contact with pigs. To determin e the prevalence of, this now-called livestock-associated (LA) MRSA among pig herds in the Netherlands and to identify and quantify risk factors, an observational study of 202 pig herds was performed between 2007 and 2008. Five environmental wipes and 60 nasal swabs from each herd were collected, and microbiological analysis was performed on single environmental samples and pooled nasal samples. A herd was considered MRSA-positive if ≥1 sample tested positive. The prevalence of MRSA-positive herds was 67% in breeding herds and 71% in finishing herds. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was then performed on data from 171 breeding herds. The number of MRSA-positive herds increased from ∼30% at the start to ∼75% at the end of the study, most likely due to transmission between herds. The prevalence of MRSA increased with herd size, as ∼40% of smaller herds (<250 sows) were MRSA-positive compared to >80% of larger herds (>500 sows). Other risk factors (e.g. antimicrobial use, purchase of gilts and hygiene measures) were not significantly associated with MRSA, though associated with herd size. Herd size appeared to be a compilation of several factors, which made larger herds more often MRSA positive....

PMID:

21733585

[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Porcine Circovirus and Human Cancer

2011-07-12T15:16:00.000+01:00

The science is beyond the scope of this blog, but this caught our eye:

“Porcine circovirus type 1 (PCV1), a small DNA virus in pigs, recently gained its notoriety when commercial human rotavirus vaccines were discovered to be contaminated by infectious PCV1.”

That’s not right: it was notorious before, but the range of worries increased when it was found in two human vaccines for use in children a couple of years ago.

Recently, there has been caustic comment over Bill Gates and the British government combining to buy huge quantities of these vaccines from pharmaceutical companies to donate to the third world.

Nobody wants to stop the provision of vaccines to needy vulnerable children.

But porcine circovirus has been repeatedly underestimated and epidemics in pigs the subject of blatant cover-ups and disinformation in the United Kingdom and elsewhere for many years.

The abstract and full report, with explanatory material, are available here

Short communication

Productive infection of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells by porcine circovirus type 1

References and further reading may be available for this article. To view references and further reading you must purchase this article.

Nathan M. Beach^a, Laura Córdoba^a, Scott P. Kenney^a and Xiang-Jin Meng^,^a^,

^a Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1981 Kraft Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0913, United States

Received 8 February 2011;

revised 23 June 2011;
accepted 25 June 2011.
Available online 8 July 2011.

Abstract

Porcine circovirus type 1 (PCV1), a small DNA virus in pigs, recently gained its notoriety when commercial human rotavirus vaccines were discovered to be contaminated by infectious PCV1. Here we report, for the first time, definitive evidence of productive PCV1 infection in a subclone of human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (Huh-7, subclone 10-3). Infectious virus was detected in the lysates of infected Huh-7 cells by immunofluorescent assay (IFA) and can be serially passaged in Huh-7-S10-3 cells. The growth kinetic of PCV1 in Huh-7-S10-3 cells was determined in a one-step growth curve using IFA and a quantitative PCR assay. PCV1 achieved a lower infectious titer in Huh-7-S10-3 human cells compared to the titer normally achieved in porcine PK-15 cells from published studies. While the direct relevance to vaccine safety of PCV1 growth in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells is unclear, these data should be considered in further evaluation of vaccines and other products that could contain infectious PCV1.

Keywords: Porcine circovirus type 1 (PCV1); Vaccine contamination; Productive PCV1 infection; Human hepatocellular carcinoma cells

MRSA 'Save Our Antibiotics' Alliance Formed

2011-07-11T21:53:00.000+01:00

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Movement on MRSA in Britain now, with quite a number of people involved leaving their posts, finding somewhere else to be, closing down activities and trimming their sails.

Many just make slight changes of emphasis in the hope that nobody will really notice.

Lobbying organisations have that quite extraordinary ability to turn on a sixpence and head off in the opposite direction.

Much of the farming media are, of course, completely shameless, feigning neutrality, people and objectives they poured scorn on, can suddenly become reportable and acceptable.

But British pigs still do not have MRSA according to Defra, Britain's infamous agricultural ministry.

It will take a little more courage before heading out into the storm and owning up to MRSA in British pigs.

They will then have to answer the question "How long has this been going on?" "Who has been doing the dirty business?"

The Murdoch media crisis has changed the view the world takes of these matters, especially when human health is endangered on this scale.

You can find the full report from the authoritative pig site here

Monday, July 11, 2011

'Save Our Antibiotics' Alliance Formed

UK - Compassion in World Farming, Sustain, and The Soil Association welcome the joint letter from the British Veterinary Association (BVA) and the British Medical Association (BMA) on the use and misuse of antimicrobials.

It is very timely that the two bodies representing the professions responsible for administering the vast majority of antibiotics to humans and animals have put out such an unambiguous statement acknowledging the role of 'poor prescribing' in causing the rise of antibiotic-resistant superbugs and calling for 'responsible use', according to Commpassion in World Farming...

...In 2004-2005, a new strain of MRSA was found in pigs on Dutch farms and by 2006, it was estimated that 50 per cent of all Dutch pig farmers carried the strain. Just last month, the first-ever documented cases of MRSA were confirmed in British farm animals - with 15 cases of a completely new type of MRSA found in milk from dairy farms throughout England. These outbreaks and the major recorded increase in food-poisoning bacteria resistant to a range of antibiotics highlight the urgency for action...

MRSA st398 Fact Sheet

2011-07-10T13:02:00.002+01:00

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A helpful fact sheet from America's Keep Antibiotics Working group follows.

Something to keep to hand for when Britain's corrupt government vets are called to account for their manipulation of the media and failing to test Britain's pigs and other livestock for MRSA.

And, of course, various other outrages against British and international law.

The list is long.

Is this Murdoch's News Corporation's "worse to come" as suggested during the News of the World scandal?

Find the source here

FACT SHEET

MRSA (ST 398): A New Resistant Disease From Animals

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections were responsible for almost 19,000 deaths in the United States in 2005. Until recently, MRSA was a disease that people picked up in hospitals. MRSA now often infects people who have no connection to hospitals. This infection pattern is known as “community acquired.”

Recent research has shown that cattle and pigs can carry MRSA and that people who come into contact with farm animals are at greater risk for MRSA. The connection between MRSA and farm animals was first identified in the Netherlands in 2004 when a six-month-old girl was found to carry a new strain of MRSA ST 398 that came from her family’s pigs.

MRSA ST 398 has been shown to infect farm workers, their families, and veterinarians in the Netherlands. Since its discovery in 2004, this unique, animal-associated strain of MRSA now accounts for 20% of the human MRSA in the Netherlands. ST 398 causes serious human illness, including skin, wound, lung, and heart infections.

MRSA ST 398 has now been found in U.S. pigs. A study published in January 2009 found MRSA ST 398 in 49% of swine and 45% of swine workers in an integrated operation with farms in Iowa and Illinois. This strain of MRSA is the same strain found in the Netherlands. The swine-associated MRSA differs from other strains of community-acquired MRSA because it is often resistant to drugs like minocycline, clindamycin, and Synercid given by doctors to treat MRSA.

The overuse of antibiotics in animal operations leads to the development and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria like MRSA. Many operators feed cattle, swine and poultry large quantities of antibiotics in low doses. MRSA ST 398 has been shown to be more common on operations that use antibiotics routinely.

Resistant versions of Escherichia coli, Clostridium difficile, and Klebsiella pneumoniae, as well as MRSA, are found on retail meat.

It has long been recognized that resistant Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Enterococci infections are linked to antibiotic use in animals.

Federal government action on this serious human health problem has been lacking. There should be systematic testing of livestock for MRSA. Rural medical systems should be monitored to determine whether MRSA is leaving the farm and causing illness.

FDA should review the safety of antibiotics used in animal feeds in light of the threat of antimicrobial resistance and remove from the market any products that are unsafe.

MRSA st398 "Pig MRSA" hits the hospitals.

2011-07-05T12:01:00.000+01:00

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Although a report on MRSA st398 from Dutch scientists was published weeks ago, the republication is now making waves.

Flutrackers seems to have picked it up yesterday here so we guess PubMed have just e-published an extract here despite the earlier date.

The full report can be downloaded here: the concluding words are stark:

"…MRSA ST398 has led to a significant increase in MRSA positive patients thereby putting a considerable strain on infection control practices in hospitals. At present the main health risk of MRSA ST398 lays with those persons in contact with livestock."

The percentage increases thought provoking. It really just confirms what the writer feared, with others, for years.

Our interest is concentrated in the British cover-up and the implications.

The best possible construction you can place on the British government actions is that they did not want to find MRSA st398 in animals or people in Britain. They still have not acknowledged it in livestock in Britain.

Obviously the government veterinarians knew this was coming and that they are hunched up calling in favours and hoping the storm will pass.

It won’t. The British veterinary industry is going to be internationally disgraced and will have to be rebuilt. They have not even attempted to protect themselves or their client farmers.

There will be the chance for a bright new generation, with proper ethical standards, to reconstruct British veterinary science on modern foundations.

The abstract as given on Flutrackers with their emphasis is worth repeating.

Pig MRSA(ST398) is adapting itself to humans

A confirmation from Dutch research: the spread of pig MRSA ST398 led to an increase in both MRSA carriers and MRSA infections

Quote:

Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2011 May 1. [Epub ahead of print]

Infection and colonization with methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus ST398 versus other MRSA in an area with a high density of pig farms.

Wulf MW, Verduin CM, van Nes A, Huijsdens X, Voss A.

PAMM Laboratory for Medical Microbiology, De Run 6250, 5504 DL, Veldhoven, The Netherlands, m.wulf@pamm.nl.

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the emergence of animal related methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus ST398 in an area with a high density of pig farms. A retrospective analysis was performed of all MRSA isolates in the laboratory database from 2002 till 2008 including typing results and clinical data from infection control archives and patient charts.

The implementation of the screening of people in contact with pigs and veal calves for MRSA led to an increase in the average number of newly identified carriers from 16 per year between July 2002 and July 2006 to 148 between July 2006 and December 2008. This is a 925% increase of which 82% (108/132) was due to ST398.

The majority (74%) came from targeted screening but 7% was due to unexpected findings. A wide range of infections with ST398 occurred in patients with and without contact with livestock varying from post-operative wound infections to sepsis and post-trauma osteomyelitis with an overrepresentation of spa type t567 among the clinical isolates. ST398 isolates were more often multi-resistant than isolates of other spa-types.

The emergence of MRSA ST398 led to an increase in both MRSA carriers and MRSA infections.

PubMed

More MRSA, and different too, in Swiss pigs

2011-06-24T14:10:00.000+01:00

Rates of MRSA in Swiss pigs are increasing, including ST49 for the first time.

But Britain continues to maintain its miraculous absence of MRSA of any kind in British pigs.

Even though the agricultural ministry has been forced belatedly, after nearly two years silence, to admit MRSA in the milk, but pigs? Never!

Aren’t we lucky fellows to have such marvellous veterinarians?

They are so good, they don’t even need to look.

And when they do find any, it will all be the fault of filthy foreigners and their filthy pork and happened last week.

It's always like that in Britain.

And everyone will pretend to believe them, as they line up to collect the gongs and sinecures given as a reward for loyalty to the vetocracy and a reminder to keep their mouths firmly shut.

Wake up England! Your veterinarians are endangering and disgracing you yet again.

Full report from 7thspace.com, here

Extracts:

The increase of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and the presence of an unusual sequence type ST49 in slaughter pigs in Switzerland

In years past, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) has been frequently detected in pigs in Europe, North America and Asia.

Recent, yet sporadic studies have revealed a low occurrence of MRSA in Switzerland. In 2009, a monitoring survey of the prevalence and genetic diversity of methicillin-resistant S.aureus (MRSA) in slaughter pigs in Switzerland was conducted using methods recommended by the EU guidelines, and using a sampling strategy evenly distributed throughout the year and representative of the Swiss slaughter pig population.

Monitoring should determine if the overall prevalence of MRSA in the entire country is increasing over the years and if specific multi-resistant MRSA clones are spreading over the country.

Results: In 2009, the nasal cavities of eight out of 405 randomly selected pigs were positive for MRSA, representing a prevalence of 2.0%...

The following year, 23 out of 392 pigs were positive for MRSA 5.9%

Three multilocus sequence types (ST), four spa types and two types of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) elements were detected...

...Conclusions: This study is the first to describe the presence of MRSA ST49 in slaughter pigs, and to demonstrate a significant and nearly three-fold increase of MRSA prevalence in pigs within two years.

The presence of a specific clonal lineage of MRSA from Switzerland suggests that it has been selected in Swiss pig husbandry. Effective hygiene measures should be enhanced within the entire pig production chain to suppress the spread of these pathogens into the community.

Author: Gudrun OvereschSabina ButtnerAlexandra RossanoVincent Perreten
Credits/Source: BMC Veterinary Research 2011, 7:30

New superbug from British pigs

2011-06-23T12:50:00.000+01:00

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The powerful and well-connected British Soil Association representing organic farmers have begun campaigning on yet another new antibiotic resistant superbug emerging from pigs and infecting humans.

Monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium does not trip off the tongue, but it has a particularly high attack rate in children and old people and is also highly resistant to antibiotics, limiting treatment options.

Predictably, the British government says “Exact statistics on the number of cases in the UK are not available.”

But they recently were caught hiding up MRSA in milk for almost two years and have long refused to do proper tests on the sick British pig herds for MRSA, C.Diff and Hepatitus E (see multiple previous posts on this blog.)

Although the writer does not always agree with the Soil Association or their agenda, they are to be congratulated on the pulling together of this dangerous story and publicising the risks.

The risks have been created by a dangerous veterinary industry supervised by corrupt government veterinarians.

The full Soil Association media release, with sources, can be found here

New salmonella superbug threat from intensive pig farms

23 June 2011

The Soil Association is calling on the Government to take immediate action to limit the spread of a deadly new type of salmonella which is passing from pigs to humans. Known as ‘monophasic salmonella typhimurium’, it is has enhanced ability to cause infections and 'a particularly high attack rate in children and old people', leading to 'an unusually high rate of hospitalisation'.[1] It is also highly resistant to antibiotics, limiting treatment options.

Several different strains have already emerged and caused numerous infections in humans and at least one death.[1] Professor John Trelfall from the Health Protection Agency has acknowledged that it appears ‘to be associated with pigs and pig products’.[2] German scientists have found clear evidence it is being transmitted from pigs to humans ‘along the food chain’, and called for interventions at a farm level to prevent human infection.[3]

The Soil Association wants a panel of experts to undertake an urgent review of the mounting evidence that specific action is needed to address the serious threat posed by the new type of salmonella, and evidence that all salmonella can spread directly from pigs to people, as well as via food. It also wants Caroline Spelman, Secretary of State for the Environment, to intervene and stop any new intensive pig farms being built near residential areas at least until the panel has made recommendations....

...Exact statistics on the number of cases in the UK are not available, but the Government’s main advisory committee on antibiotic resistance in animals has warned that it ‘appeared currently to be the most predominant type of Salmonella in Europe’.[5] The European Food Safety Authority has described its incidence as ‘epidemic’.[1] The available evidence strongly suggests that it is increasing in pigs and humans in the UK.[1] & [6] There have also been cases in British cattle.[6]

Most monophasic salmonella from pigs are multiresistant to at least four families of antibiotics, but the long-feared development of resistance to modern cephalosporin antibiotics in salmonella has already been found as well on at least one British pig farm[7] The European Food Safety Authority has warned that resistance to these antibiotics could lead to treatment failures. They also warned that even the routine use of antibiotics such as tetracyclines, the most widely used antibiotics in pig feed, not only promotes resistance but also increases the spread and persistence in pigs of these resistant strains.[1]...

...Flies and cockroaches are known to carry salmonella and other pathogens found on pigs, and American scientists have said that because these insects can move freely between animal waste on farms and nearby houses there is ‘increasing concern in the medical and public-health community about insect pests directly associated with the spread of bacterial pathogens and antibiotic-resistant microorganisms with animal production systems to residential settings’.[8] This is particularly significant because Dr Rob Davies, from the Veterinary Laboratories Agency, believes that monophasic salmonella typhimurium may have ‘the ability to be shed in large numbers in faeces compared with other strains’.[9] Flies were a particular problem on one of Midland Pig Producers' other pig farms when journalists visited it last year.[10]

According to Dr Davies, monophasic salmonella typhimurium is one of several salmonella strains to have evolved in pigs.[10] Furthermore, another very recently published government study found that 28% of British pigs tested positive for salmonella. 92% of these showed resistance to antibiotics with 67% being multiresistant.[11] A British government survey in 2002 found that one in every twelve sausages (8.6%) were contaminated with salmonella.[12]

Research has shown that pigs raised indoors excrete higher levels of salmonella in their manure than do outdoor-raised pigs, both organic and non-organic.[13] Many scientific studies also show that salmonella in pigs increases with herd size.[14]

MRSA in Milk. British government cover-up

2011-06-21T08:42:00.000+01:00

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The British government did know that MRSA had been found in British milk nearly two years ago but suppressed the news. No warning was issued.

People have been infected, presumably either during the milking process or drinking the 2 percent of raw (unpasteurised) milk still available in Britain.

The evidence comes directly from the House of Commons record where the Minister has been questioned by an alert MP last week.

Here

is the extract from Hansard ( the official record of the proceedings of Parliament )

Our previous articles cover the development of this scandal.

here 3 June 2011

MRSA in British milk and farm workers

and here 6 June 2011

E. Coli in Sprouts and MRSA in milk

and here 18 June 2011

MRSA in Milk, Battle breaks out in Britain. Crooks versus Cranks.

Cancer charities investigate MRSA in pigs and pig people

2011-06-20T11:14:00.000+01:00

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There is no direct link between cancer and MRSA that we know of, but the fact remains that cancer patients are at greater risk of premature death from antibiotic resistant disease because of damaged immune systems.

Even to reduce it to monetary terms: massive sums are spent on cancer treatments, all wasted if the patients die from MRSA.

So US cancer charities start investigating MRSA in pigs and pig people.

Who would have thought it possible?

But it makes perfect sense.

They are going to be able to blame a gang of corrupt veterinarians for covering up swine disease and creating new forms of MRSA by squandering antibiotics to get desperately sick pigs into the food chain.

You can read the full document here

Livestock Contact and MRSA in Rural Areas

This study is currently recruiting participants.

Verified on May 2011 by National Institutes of Health Clinical Center
(CC)
First Received on June 16, 2011. No Changes Posted
Sponsor: National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Information provided by: National Institutes of Health Clinical
Center (CC)
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01375621
Purpose
Background:

- MRSA is a type of bacteria that causes serious health problems. It can cause severe infections and is difficult to treat. MRSA has been found in a high number of people who work with some kinds of
livestock, such as pigs.

Researchers want to study people in rural areas, where more people work with or around livestock. They want to see if MRSA is more common or causes more serious infections in these areas.

Objectives:

- To look at the relationship between livestock handling (especially pigs) and MRSA bacteria in people in rural areas...

The pigs are making us ill.

2011-06-19T12:26:00.000+01:00

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The row about pig health is now fully under way in Britain.

Soon a full, probably international, investigation will be launched into what has been going on in Britain, for the last 15 years.

It’s a shame it took the cranks to expose the crooks. That will cloud the issue. This is not really about alternative farming systems: it could be, it should be, but it isn’t.

This is about serious organised crime, protected, and aided, by the British civil service, that may well have killed thousands in misery and spread disease about the world.

Those responsible manipulated and protected both the crooks and the cranks quite indiscriminately but they have now lost control.

It was one of those crime waves that inevitably would be exposed eventually. There are even elements of ponzi schemes, pyramid selling and time-share scams.

Had the crimes been dealt with properly, instead of covered up, the issue would have hit the mainstream media long ago. The dangers to human health and to farming would have been stopped.

And that is the way to reform: a thorough investigation and public criminal proceedings including the actions of British and other civil servants stripped of crown immunity.

What will emerge will shock all and permanently change Britain and some other countries. It will change animal husbandry everywhere

The writer is going to have to spend the rest of his life explaining why he did not do more.

The complete, long, Daily Mail article complete with pictures is here

There is much to disagree with in the article, but the central fact: that the pigs are stuffed with antibiotics and that that poses a known, and probably realised, human health risk is undoubtedly accurate.

Giant factory pig farms aren't just morally wrong. They're making us ill

By DOMINIC WEST

Last updated at 12:24 AM on 19th June 2011

When public figures speak out about animal welfare issues, their views tend to be received with weary sighs. But the way we treat our livestock is not just a moral question. Industrial farming is making us ill...

...Thankfully, people power is on the march.

...I heard locals' fears of increased heavy lorry movements, noise, smells and the health risks from the antibiotics often given to intensively farmed pigs to keep them healthy in their overcrowded and stressful environment.

Some villagers want to move away but can't sell their houses....

...Right now, half of all antibiotics in the UK are used on farm animals and 60 per cent of those are given to pigs. The overuse of antibiotics in intensive farming means that these creatures provide a breeding ground for the development of antibiotic-resistant strains of diseases such as MRSA, E.coli and salmonella, which pass from animals to humans.

Ominously, scientists have just discovered a new MRSA strain, said to be present on as many as three per cent of dairy farms in the UK. There have already been 12 cases.

Factory farms are central to all this. When statistics at one hospital in the Netherlands were analysed, it was found that 80 per cent of MRSA cases there were caused by a strain which had evolved on factory pig farms and which is now spreading globally to other farms and from animals to humans too...

...What really bothers me is that even though these health concerns are well known, what Europe's politicians are doing is worse than nothing: the EU is encouraging factory farms...

...I also fear that the small farms dotted across our countryside, which, like the one run by my uncle have for centuries provided us with good food without the need for antibiotic drugs, will simply disappear...

MRSA in Milk, Battle breaks out in Britain. Crooks versus Cranks.

2011-06-18T11:50:00.002+01:00

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Defra, Britain's infamous agricultural ministry, must have remotely disabled the writer's copy and paste. We are not serious, but strange things have become normal around the writer.

It has broken on this particular site today. Even "select all" will not work.

And what a one to miss catching for posterity!

The important National Farmers Union takes on the Independent newspaper this morning over MRSA in Livestock criticising their front page and batch of articles yesterday.

As you can see, the NFU evade answering the allegations.

The writer is now willing to bet that someone now finds more MRSA in Britain and says it is a recent introduction by filthy foreigners.

And to remind you, if you did not know already, that Britain has had MRSA for years, but our hopelessly corrupt government veterinarians brilliantly managed never to find any.

Almost alone amongst civilised nations we were pure and unsullied by MRSA until two separate investigations, one Irish, one British report it in milk on the same day.

Now they all in the kind of mess that could and should have been dealt with years ago by putting Scotland Yard, Britain's top police, into Defra's veterinary deception squad.

It's the cranks versus the crooks in Britain. Neither will win, but decent well balanced people might just come through the middle.

American readers should note that your Maryn McKenna is very creditably representing you in having a major article published in the Independent last week even before this less impressive batch based on information from Britain's well connected and pampered organic industry.

You can find an eleven year history of this scandal on this blog and associated publications

Nobody should miss out on this latest development. It matters, really matters.

and here it is.

ANIMAL-EPIDEMICS

Schmallenberg virus

Schmallenbergvirus confirmed on farms in the UK

MRSA in Conventional and Alternative Retail Pork Products

MRSA in pork products: does the "antibiotic-free" label make a difference?

MRSA in Conventional and Alternative Retail Pork Products

Foston - Protests delay pig farm plans

Antibiotics lead us into death

MRSA on Pig Farms in Croatia

MRSA on German Organic and Conventional Pig Farms

Collect MRSA st398 with the eggs?

MRSA-ST398 in livestock farmers and neighbouring residents in arural area in Germany

B. BISDORFFa1 c1,J. L. SCHOLHÖLTERa1, K. CLAUßENa2, M. PULZa2,D. NOWAKa1 and K.RADONa1

MRSA in Swiss pigs increasing

MRSA st398 responsible for bloodstream infections?

MRSA in pigs - New report

Antibiotic Resistance loiters on organic farms.

MRSA st398 identifiable in hospital by Tetracycline Resistance

Danes can trace MRSA st398

Circovirus may render pigs liable to CSF and other diseases

Porcine circovirustype 2 (PCV2) infection decreases the efficacy of an attenuated classical swinefever virus (CSFV) vaccine

Abstract (provisional)

Animal Antibiotics feeding Human Resistance

Germans count and curb livestock antibiotics

British veterinarians welcome antibiotic curbs

Porcine Circovirus, the Dam is Bursting

Porcine Circovirus - Co-existence of Multiple Strains

Co-existence ofmultiple strains of porcine circovirus type 2 in the same pig from China

Abstract (provisional)

Foston Pig Farm - the human risks understated

MRSA st398 in German pigs

A new report reveals that MRSA st398 is widespread on German pig farms, especially the large operations fattening pigs.

Factors associated with the occurrence of MRSA CC398 in herds of fattening pigs in Germany

Abstract (provisional)

Background

Results

Conclusions

MRSA st398 found in American meat

MRSA found in Iowa meat

Foston Pig Farm - Superbug risks - Discrepancy

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A few days ago in our post (here) celebrating the long delayed admission by the British government of the risks to public health from antibiotic resistance arising from pig farms, we quoted from the Health Protection Agency:

Antibiotic Resistance risk from pigs to humans admitted by British Government vets

Health Protection Agency confirms human health concerns over proposed mega pig farm in Derbyshire

31 October 2011

Superbugs in East Anglian Hospitals?

MRSA st398 - Start of a New Epidemic?

Hepatitis E in Spanish pig herds

MRSA in Pigs now self-sufficient

MRSA st398 - The Emergence of Swine-associated MRSA

MRSA in British pigs - Movement?

Pig MRSA - the genie is out of the bottle

Sick as a pig (and in Britain too!)

E.Coli 0157 Britain hides human epidemic for seven months

Hepatitis E in British sausages

Virus warning over undercooked pork after three die

Investigation of the prevalence of hepatitis E virus contamination through the pork food supply chain in England

MRSA in Pigs and Humans - no comfort

WEBLOGS

A little word of comfort

Author: Vincent ter Beek

MRSA st398 (cc398) in hosts and country

MRSA st130 ( cc130 ) found in humans in Germany

Rare Occurrence of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus CC130 with a Novel mecA Homologue in Humans in Germany

Abstract Top

Circovirus in U.S. Swine

Denmark - Rise in MRSA st398 - Porcine MRSA in People

Porcine Circovirus - changing genome challenges pig immune systems

Porcine circovirus 2 major genotype group members' co-replication as a prerequisite to co-evolution that may explain the variable disease manifestations

MRSA in Canadian pigs, veterinarians and pork

VETERINARY MRSA

Characterization of Veterinary MRSA: Virulence and transmissibility

Summary

Involved

C.Diff 027 endemic in Chicago hospitals

Investigators Discover Outbreak C. difficile Strain is Endemic in Chicago Hospitals

A year since MRSA found in Swedish pigs

National News

CSF - the aniversary of the 2000 Classical Swine Fever epidemic

MRSA st398 - Pigs - a reservoir for people and poultry

B. BISDORFF^a1 ^c1,J. L. SCHOLHÖLTER^a1, K. CLAUßEN^a2, M. PULZ^a2,D. NOWAK^a1 and K.RADON^a1