Those of you who read me on the newsgroup uk.business.agriculture will know that I have long added the following to my signature :
“Release and independently audit the results of testing British pigs for MRSA and C.Diff now!”
C.Diff was added some years ago, when pretty much alone, I began to suspect that there was some connection between the rise in C.Diff deaths in British hospitals and pig production.
C.Difficile has again hit the veterinary headlines with a major new study of the disease in pigs emerging in Canada and being reported in the Netherlands:
Clostridium difficile shedding in piglets investigated
A longitudinal study of Clostridium difficile colonization in piglets was performed on a conventional swine farm in Ontario, Canada...The decline in prevalence over time may also have implications on public health concerns, since colonization rates of animals at the time of slaughter are presumably more relevant than those earlier in life.The writer has long campaigned on the issue of C.Diff reaching the human population from infected pigs.
New dangerous strains have emerged in antibiotic fed environments and caused human deaths -
C.Difficile in pigs and people - investigation detailing the Dutch investigations
In humans, this type of Clostridium mainly occurs with people who have been consuming a lot of antibiotics, causing a balance disruption in the gastro-intestinal tract. "We suspect that in pig production, there is also a link between the use of antibiotics and the prevention of C. difficile," Kuijper said.
