MRSA: from nursery to butchery

The doctoral research done by Marijke Verhegghe (published as “Molecular epidemiology of livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the Belgian pork production chain”) confirms the presence of LA-MRSA (a type of MRSA found in farm animals) in pig husbandry, and reveals the genetic diversity of this bacterium.
The research also focuses on the contamination routes in pig husbandry from the nursery to the butchery. The results show that additional hygiene regulations are needed to reduce the percentage of LA-MRSA in Belgian pig farming.