Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck
Swine farmers are six times more likely to be carriers of drug-resistant Staphylococcus than individuals who do not have regular contact with pigs, researchers from the University of Iowa, Kent State University and the National Cancer Institute have discovered.
Their research, published online in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, is being called the largest prospective examination of S. aureus infection in a global livestock workers, as well as the first study of its kind in the US. Roughly 30 percent of the American population carries this bacteria, which is commonly found on the skin and in the nose and throat.
S. aureus can cause a variety of different skin and soft tissue infections, and as Futurity explains, while most of them are minor, the bacteria can cause serious infections to occur. Complicating things is the rise and spread of multidrug-resistant strains such as methicillin-resistant (MRSA), tetracycline-resistant (TRSA), or multidrug-resistant (MDRSA) strains.
A potential health risk, but not an economic one
Previous studies have shown that some strains of S. aureus are often associated with swine, cattle, and poultry exposure. However, little had been known about livestock-associated staph carriage and infection in the US. The authors said that their work could help keep farmers safe by increasing awareness of this potential swine-related health issue.
“S. aureus does not typically make pigs sick, but they can act as carriers and transmit the bacterium to farmers,” said corresponding author Tara Smith from the Kent State University Department of Biostatistics, Environmental Health Sciences and Epidemiology, assuring that the bacteria does not pose an economic threat to swine farmers.
“While carriage of S. aureus isn’t itself harmful, individuals who harbor the bacterium in their nose, throat, or on their skin are at risk of developing an active staph infection, and they can also pass the bacterium to other family or community members,” she added. “Individuals who may be immunocompromised, or have existing conditions such as diabetes, are especially at risk from staph infections.”
Smith and her colleagues followed a group of 1,342 Iowa residents, including both those who are in contact with livestock and a non-contact control group, for a period of 17 months. They took nose and throat swabs at the beginning of the study, finding that those who had been exposed to livestock (especially swine) exposure were far more likely to carry MDRSA, TRSA, and related types of S. aureus than those who had no such exposure.
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