26.11.2013

The U.K. Department of Health has identified the presence of Livestock-Associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in turkeys and chickens on a farm in East Anglia.

It’s the first case of MRSA in poultry in the U.K. and that two thirds of the turkeys on the unnamed farm were infected. Livestock-associated (LA)-MRSA is not considered a significant risk to animal health and welfare. LA-MRSA is different to the MRSA that causes the healthcare associated infections seen in people, but the zoonotic transmission of such MRSA to humans via direct animal contact, environmental contaminations or meat are a matter of concern.