Swedish dairy farmers and their veterinarians are reacting to the increasingly serious situation developing in Denmark.
The Swedish veterinary authorities are very aware that Danish farmers are isolated on admission to hospital, because of the dangers of spread within the hospital.
The advice, not to buy animals in, is good. It is clear that most transmission is animal to animal.
The British authorities remain in stubborn denial, with the domestic news black-out more or less intact.
In the Internet age, that is a ridiculous situation: the world will demand explanations.
Mechanical translation from Swedish - link here
MRSA in cattle in Denmark
According to Danish media have MRSA (methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus) have been found in Danish cattle.MRSA is the bacterium that causes in humans are difficult to treat infections and which are called hospital infections.
- It is commonly used in pig and cattle herds, for example, Holland and Belgium. Where the situation is such that farmers are isolated in their own rooms when they are admitted to hospital, "saysCharlotte Hallén Sandgren, veterinarian and director of the Swedish Dairy Animal Health.
Own room might sound nice, but the situation is very serious. The good news is that the strain of MRSA found in Denmark, ST398, not yet proven to be particularly pathogenic.
- But bacteria are capricious. The man is worried about is that it will change their properties, "says Charlotte Hallén Sandgren.
She is also concerned that MRSA will spread to Swedish cattle farms.
- In Sweden, we use primarily penicillin in the treatment of mastitis.If we get MRSA and treat with penicillin so it means basically that we give free reign since the MRSA bacteria are resistant to it. And we have no way of screening tests to find it and if we could get it so we do not know how to get rid of it in affected herds, "says Charlotte Hallén Sandgren.
The main diffusion path is contact transmission. It is quite clear that the bacterium has a very good ability to attach to things that are in contact with.
- It is spread mainly through contact with other animals and humans, so do not buy animals and think about the procedures you have to accept any sort of presence on the farm, "says Charlotte Hallén Sandgren.
Farms that receive visits are recommended to require protective clothing and that visitors wash their hands before they enter the herd.
