U.S. Meat, Poultry Found with Drug-Resistant Staph Bacteria

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A study in five cities by the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Phoenix, Arizona finds drug-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) in meat and poultry from U.S. grocery stores at unexpectedly high rates. The study’s findings appear in today in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

S. aureus is a bacteria linked to a wide range of human diseases, and while U.S. government agencies — CDC, USDA, FDA — test or inspect for several types of resistant bacteria, S. aureus is not one of them. Moreover, say the authors, a new multidrug-resistant S. aureus strain, ST398, has emerged that predominantly infects people working in food animal production.

In a national assessment of antibiotic resistant S. aureus in the U.S. food supply, researchers collected and analyzed 136 samples covering 80 brands of beef, chicken, pork, and turkey. They surveyed 26 retail grocery stores in five U.S. cities: Los Angeles, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Flagstaff, Arizona, and Washington, D.C.

The researchers found nearly half (47%) of the meat and poultry samples were contaminated with S. aureus, and more than half of those bacteria (52%) were resistant to at least three classes of antibiotics.

According to NIH’s MedlinePlus, S. aureus causes most of the staph infections. They are more likely to occur if the bacteria can enter the skin through a cut or scratch, or by contact with a person or surface with the bacteria. While most staph infections are minor, more serious cases of pneumonia, food poisoning, toxic shock syndrome, or blood poisoning (bacteremia) can occur.

In a statement today the American Meat Institute (AMI) in Washington, D.C. criticized the study’s conclusions based on the small sample of 136 cases. The group noted that the U.S. Department of Agriculture studies the prevalence of bacteria with thousands of samples over long periods. AMI also pointed out that while the bacteria may be drug resistant, they can be destroyed in normal cooking methods, and controlled by washing hands and cooking surfaces.

Read more: Research Spin Off Company to Tackle Superbug Infections

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