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Bloomberg
British scientists have discovered a new strain of the drug-resistant germ known as MRSA in cow’s milk and some evidence that the animals could be a source of the infection in humans.
University of Cambridge researchers were led to the discovery while studying an infection of the animals’ udders, according to an article published today in the U.K journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases. Tests showed that people in Scotland, England and Denmark carried the new variant of MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and that the bacteria can elude the usual means of detection.
Tests that search for the mecA gene, which enables the bacteria to resist treatment with some antibiotics, can miss the new, genetically different strain, researchers said. Relying solely on gene testing can lead doctors to prescribe medicines that are powerless against MRSA, the researchers said.
“It’s important that any of the MRSA testing that is based on detection of the mecA gene be upgraded to ensure that the tests detect the new gene found in the new MRSA,” said Mark Holmes, the lead researcher, in a statement.
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