Deadly MRSA superbug that has killed six found in British pork being sold at Sainsbury’s and Asda
The antibiotic resistant bug was found in tests on 97 products sold in UK supermarkets, as more infected live pigs are being imported from Denmark
A DEADLY superbug has been discovered in British pork being sold in supermarkets.
The livestock strain of MRSA can resist the strongest antibiotics.
It was found in tests on 97 products made from UK pork.
Three infected samples were sold at Sainsbury’s and Asda.
The bug is not the most virulent but has caused at least six deaths in Denmark. It is also serious for weak immune systems. It is killed by cooking but can be passed on through poor hygiene. British farms are not screened for MRSA CC398.
Workers on pig farms can also catch the disease from infected animals and pass it on to other people.
A loophole in import rules allows in infected live pigs from countries such as Denmark.
In Denmark, MRSA CC398 affects two-thirds of pig farms and is viewed as a major public health crisis after it has spread over the last decade.
Professor Tim Lang, of the Centre for Food Policy at City University in London,said: If we don’t have tight infection control and we don’t try to control the movement of live animals, infection can spread.
“The British are up in arms about the movement of people, but the EU also has a large movement of animals.
“We need biosecurity, we need to tighten up this livestock movement. You may get cheap meat, but in the long term it’s going to add to your public health problems.”
Prof Erik Millstone of Sussex University said the emergence of antibiotic-resistant superbugs from agriculture was “a huge threat to human health” and that there was a clear risk that MRSA CC398 could spread among British livestock and to people.
He anticipated that the government would downplay this risk but warned: “While the [government] tries its customary tactics of blaming the victim, it won’t work.”