Clostriduim difficile and Meticillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, more commonly known as MRSA, are two well known superbugs. They are usually acquired in hospital settings where they can colonise or infect patients and often lead to further complications, extended hospitalization and even death. Both of these pathogens have caused widely publicised outbreaks in healtcare settings putting added strain on healthcare costs both globally and in Ireland. In recent years these has also been a notable increase in the number of infections occuring outside of the health care setting in the general community. Certain strains of both bacteria have been found in animals in Europe and the ability of these organism to spread from animals to humans is an important public health concern.
The purpose of this study is to look at the potential spread of these infections through the intensive farming of pigs. Studies in the Netherlands have shown the exact same strain of microorganism causing infections in both humans and pigs.
100 faecal samples from pigs will be examined and tested for the presence of these pathogens. Any microorganims that are isolated will be fully identified and characterised for toxin production. Isolates will be screened against a range of antibiotics to see which antibiotics can be used as treatment options. For selected isolates the genetic makeup of these strains will be inestigated to determine if strains are being spread from animals to humans.
