People living near large pig farms are more likely to be infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria (MRSA), reports JAMA Internal Medicine.
Researchers at the Geisinger’s Henry Hood Center for Health Research and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found for the first time a link between living near pig farms and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections, often abbreviated as MRSA.
According to our analysis, approximately 11 percent of MRSA infections in the study population can be attributed to farmland fertilized with pig manure.
According to the US Food and Drug Administration, almost 80 percent. antibiotics sold in the USA are used in livestock farming. The manure or slurry from the animals fed with antibiotics then end up in the ground – and with them antibiotic-resistant bacteria, resistance genes and about 75 percent. consumed antibiotics.
The study used a sophisticated electronic medical data processing system to track down patients with MRSA infections as well as skin and soft tissue infections. Both groups were compared with patients who never developed MRSA infection. It was examined at what distance these people lived from the pig farms, how many animals lived in the farm, how many manure was used to fertilize the fields and on what acreage.
As it turned out, among the patients diagnosed and treated under the Geisinger Health System between 2005 and 2010, approximately 3000 people developed MRSA infection, and 50 skin and soft tissue infections.
Of the eligible MRSA cases, 1539 were community-acquired infections and 1335 were healthcare-related. Scientists found a clear link between infections outside of hospital and the use of pig manure as fertilizer. A similar, though weaker, relationship was with the operation of pig farms. On the other hand, MRSA was not found to be favorable for dairy farms.
The authors of the research emphasize that they prove the usefulness of electronic databases, thanks to which it is possible to check the relationship between various factors and the disease. (PAP)