.
It's not just Germany, MRSA is pretty well everywhere in pig and pork production in most countries, except Britain where the government maintains, on the flimsiest of evidence, that British pigs do not have MRSA.
But we know that British pigs are 20 per cent less productive than the rest of the EU, something that is disease related. We know that they have been ill for more than a decade.
In Britain, it is the sound of silence, of denial and of defiance by corrupt government veterinarians, backed by some blatant criminal intimidation, despite the obvious dangers to human health.
The dots of reason, good science and common-sense have not been joined up, deliberately left floating unconnected. What you do not look for, you do not find.
We can be certain that there will come a time of exposure, of disgrace, of punishment and for the payment of reparations to those damaged.
Abstract of report here
Prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a fresh meat pork production chain
Source: Journal of Food Protection®, Volume 74, Number 1, January 2011 , pp. 126-129(4)
Abstract:
The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus on different stages of a fresh pork production chain to reveal potential carryover from live animals to meat. Samples were collected at different stages of the production process in a large German abattoir with an integrated processing unit for fresh pork. Samples included nasal swabs from pigs at stunning, environmental samples from the slaughter line, surface samples from carcasses, environmental and meat samples from the processing unit, and samples from final products. Samples were analyzed with an established two-step selective enrichment method, and isolates were characterized with respect to their S. aureus protein A gene (spa) and staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec; which harbors the mecA gene) types. Contamination rate was highest (64.7%) in nasal swabs and lower (6.0%) on carcasses, meat at processing (4.2%), and final products (2.8%). Environmental samples were positive along the slaughter line (12%) but not in the processing unit. spa types t011 and t034 and SCCmec type V predominated the isolates. Heterogeneity of spa types was highest in nasal swabs. Results show that methicillin-resistant S. aureus can be identified at all stages of the production chain. Further studies are needed to identify potential control points to reduce the carryover from farm animals to the final products.
