Drug resistant bacteria found in Detroit area meat

Wayne State University researchers have identified antibiotic-resistant MRSA bacteria in meat from grocery stores in Metro Detroit.

The Detroit News reports that the study marks the first time MRSA has been identified in the U.S. food supply.

Published online Wednesday in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, the study by Wayne State University researchers included 289 raw meat samples from 30 Metro Detroit grocery stores.

Of those, six samples — three chicken, two beef and one turkey — tested positive for MRSA, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

WSU assistant professor Yifan Zhang told the News that people can get infected if they handle raw meat with cuts on their hands and don’t wear gloves.

MRSA can cause illness and death.

According to the Mayo Clinic:

Most MRSA infections occur in people who have been in hospitals or other health care settings, such as nursing homes and dialysis centers. When it occurs in these settings, it’s known as health care-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA). HA-MRSA infections typically are associated with invasive procedures or devices, such as surgeries, intravenous tubing or artificial joints.

Another type of MRSA infection has occurred in the wider community — among healthy people. This form, community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA), often begins as a painful skin boil. It’s spread by skin-to-skin contact. At-risk populations include groups such as high school wrestlers, child care workers and people who live in crowded conditions.

It is the community-associated variety of MRSA that was found in meat.

An increase in antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections has been linked to the heavy use of antibiotics in farming.

The U.S. has no system of testing for MRSA in the food supply, usrecallnews.com reports.