Experts are becoming increasingly concerned about a strain of MRSA, a type of bacteria, that can jump from pigs to humans. They fear it is becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics.
The strain broke out in pugs due to farming methods and has grown to become the dominate type in livestock over the past half a century. Now, however, researchers have warned that the strain can be caught by humans and is becoming stronger in the face of antibiotics, reports the Express.
According to a new study, the strain known as CC398 can rapidly adapt to human hosts while maintaining its resistance to antibiotics at the same time. The researchers say this resistance may have been built up over time due to the high levels of antibiotics used in pig farms.
Dr Gemma Murray, a lead author of the study, said: "Historically high levels of antibiotic use (on pig farms) may have led to the evolution of this highly antibiotic-resistant strain of MRSA."
This comes after scientists last year warned that antibiotic resistance had become something of a "hidden pandemic" amid coronavirus last year, stressing that "another crisis" could unfold as restrictions get lifted. Now, CC398 is being associated with a rising number of human infections in people who have not even come into contact with livestock.
Experts say it is crucial to focus on the MRSA strain so the "risk to public health" is better understood.
Dr Lucy Weinert, a senior author of the paper from Cambridge University's Department of Veterinary Medicine, wrote: "Understanding the emergence and success of CC398 in European livestock - and its capacity to infect humans - is vitally important in managing the risk it poses to public health."
