New Form of MRSA – From India – ca-MRSA

Although not foodborne in this instance, with US studies linking MRSA to foodborne illness and other world studies linking MRSA to retail meats the article in Lab Saints is quite interesting.

Community-acquired methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (ca-MRSA) bacterium that is resistant to almost all common antibiotics.

In India, where poor hygiene and the availability of over-the-counter antibiotics lead to development of resistance, an estimated 100 to 200 million people are reportedly already carriers of these virtually unbeatable killer bacteria. The killer bugs have also reached England, presumably through medical tourists who travelled to India for cosmetic surgery, and reportedly already infected several hundred people. A few cases have also turned up in Germany.

The bacterium has become a serious health threat in the United States