Aerosolized methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was sampled inside and downwind of a swine facility. Animal feed was sampled before and after entry into the swine facility. Aerosolized particles were detected using an optical particle counter for real time measurement and with an Andersen Sampler to detect viable MRSA. Molecular typing and antimicrobial susceptibility testing were performed on samples collected. Viable MRSA organisms isolated inside the swine facility were primarily associated with particles > 5μm, and those isolated downwind from the swine facility were associated with particles <5μm. MRSA isolates included spa types t008, t034, and t5706 and were resistant to methicillin, tetracycline, clindamycin, and erythromycin. Animal feed both before and after entry into the swine facility tested positive for viable MRSA. These isolates were of similar spa types as the airborne MRSA organisms. Air samples collected after power washing with a biocide inside the swine facility resulted in no viable MRSA organisms detected. Our pilot study showed that the ecology of MRSA is complex. Additional studies are warranted on the maximum distance that viable MRSA can be emitted outside the facility, and the possibility that animal feed may be a source of contamination.
Background
Previously we have found that Midwestern US wildlife biologists, poultry farmers, veterinarians, and duck hunters have had evidence of avian influenza virus infections (AIVs).
Objectives
We sought to evaluate a national sample of US bird banders for previous evidence of AIV infection.
Study Design
Controlled, cross-sectional serological survey
Results
In 2009 and 2010 we enrolled 157 registered bird banders from 40 US states and compared their enrollment data and serological results with 78 adult age-group matched controls from Iowa. On average, the bird banders had 15 years of wild bird exposure, banded 20 days per year, worked chiefly in 1 of the 4 North American flyways, and banded 300 individual birds of 5 different species per season. While handling birds, only 15% of banders reported wearing gloves. Three bird banders and 1 control had evidence of previous infection (1 AIV each) with A/BWTE/Ohio/07/495762-6(H7N3), A/Ty/MN/38391-6/95(H9N2) or A/CK/NJ/7290-2/95(H11N3) by microneutralization assay. There was no evidence of previous infection with a representative sample H4, H5, H6, H8, or H10 AIVs. Participants were followed for influenza-like-illness for a median of 7 months and 4 (3 bird banders) submitted self-collected eye, nasal, and throat influenza-like-illness swab specimens, 1 of which collected in November of 2009, yielded a pandemic H1N1 influenza A virus.
Conclusion
Despite reports of conjunctivitis and upper respiratory symptoms while bird banding, we found sparse evidence that US bird banders had infections with AIVs.
The majority of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic in origin. Swine represent a potential reservoir for many novel pathogens and may transmit these to humans via direct contact with live animals (such as swine farmers and large animal veterinarians), or to the general human population via contaminated meat. We review recent emerging microbes associated with swine and discuss public health implications.
Researchers, veterinary and health care practitioners, and agricultural producers gathered in Johnston, Iowa, to attend the eighth annual Midwest Rural Agricultural Safety and Health Forum (MRASH), November 2009. Among several focus areas, four plenary talks were given on the current research being conducted examining methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) on swine farms in the United States. These focused on prevalence of MRSA on farms, both in swine and in human workers; the presence of MRSA in air samples and in swine barn shower facilities; and the presence of methicillin-resistant and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus in retail meats. These findings begin to elucidate the overall picture of livestock-associated MRSA in the Midwestern United States.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.