The growing number of antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs’ is a major challenge in livestock farming – the scale of which we now know thanks to the work of Cambridge researchers in association with farmers and vets. Their evidence on the prevalence of livestock-associated Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) informed policymakers in the UK, which contributed to new legislation to prohibit the prophylactic use of antibiotics other than in exceptional cases. UK sampling in 2017–2019 found no occurrence of MRSA mecC in food-producing animals.
Added 14 November 2022