Re: MRSA - They have set up a special committee!

On Fri, 18 Apr 2008 23:23:11 +0100, "Pat Gardiner"
<patgardiner@btinternet.com> wrote:

>...no doubt totally composed of Britain's bent government vets.
>
>No wonder they recently refused to publish the current figures on
>Campylobacter  in chicken until 2010.
>
>All faithfully recorded in the archives here on uk.business.agriculture.
>http://groups.google.co.uk/group/uk.business.agriculture/search?qÊmpylobacter&
amp;start=0&scoring=d&
>16th March.
>
>The Food Standards Agency vets probably hoped they would all be retired with
>a big lump sum by the time anyone found out.
>
>I have bad news for them...
>
>http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_idV0642&
;in_page_id70
>
>Watchdog sounds alarm over the superbugs which are being passed to humans
>through food
>
>By SEAN POULTER - 22:45pm on 18th April 2008
>
>Watchdogs have sounded the alarm over superbugs which are being passed to
>humans through food, such as chicken and even salads.
>
>Experts on the European Food Safety Authority(EFSA) say there is rising
>concern over superbug forms of common food poisoning bacteria such as
>campylobacter and salmonella.
>
>It is calling for a Europe-wide review of food safety regimes to tackle the
>growing menace.
>
>Decades of treating farm animals with drugs have made bacteria like
>salmonella resistant to many treatments
>
>The use of powerful drugs on farm animals for decades has led the bugs that
>colonise the animals to mutate to become immune to the effects of the
>chemicals.
>When these bugs infect humans through food it is becoming increasingly
>difficult for doctors to find antibiotics that will offer effective
>treatment.
>
>A number of food studies in Britain and around the world have identified the
>presence of these bugs and others, such as new forms of e.coli, in food.
>
>At the same time, Britain's Food Standards Agency(FSA) has recently reported
>a rise in the number of people in this country falling sick from
>Campylobacter poisoning.
>
>A report from EFSA's specialist panel on animal health and drugs, BIOHAZ,
>has highlighted the need for a review of food safety regimes.
>
>The antibiotics used by doctors are also known as antimicrobials. While the
>immunity developed by these common bugs is known as antmicrobial resistance.
>
>The BIOHAZ panel concluded: "Antimicrobial resistance of bacteria is a
>growing concern as antimicrobials become less effective in fighting human
>infections.
>"This coincides with a rise in bacterial resistance to antimicrobials in
>animal populations."
>
>It adds: "Resistant Salmonella and Campylobacter involved in human disease
>are mostly spread through food.
>
>"The principal foods carrying such antimicrobial resistant bacteria are
>poultry meat, eggs, pork or beef.
>
>"Contamination during preparation, handling and processing of fresh food of
>plant origin, such as salads, is also of concern."
>
>The panel said the bugs are being passed to humans through meat. Salad
>products can become contaminated if they are grown on land irrigated with
>water containing animal slurry.
>
>It has recommended that "these potential contamination routes and the
>control measures currently in place be reviewed in light of the most recent
>scientific data".
>Campylobacter is the most common cause of food poisoning in humans.
>
>FSA figures show that there were 42,226 known cases in humans in this
>country in 2006, which represents a rise of more than 500 on the year
>before.
>
>This figure is thought to significantly underestimate the true number of
>infections because many people do not report food poisoning to their GPs.
>
>Campylobacter can lead to serious complications in vulnerable groups,
>particularly the elderly and those already suffering from other illnesses
>that weaken their immune system.
>
>Research by the watchdog put the death toll at 70 per year.
>
>FSA experts have warned that they watchdog may miss a target designed to
>reduce the presence of campylobacter in chicken by 50per cent by 2010.
>
>Separately, a deadly new form of e.coli responsible for infecting up to
>30,000 people a year, causing a terrible death toll, has been found on 32
>British farms.
>
>The discovery has triggered fears that the bug is spreading into the human
>population through meat and milk.
>
>The virulent bug - ESBL e.col - is known to have killed hundreds of people
>in several outbreaks across the UK in the past five years.
>
>But the true scale of infection and deaths caused by the bug, which is
>linked to blood poisoning and urinary tract infections, is thought to be
>much higher.
>
>Some estimates suggest as many as 4,000 deaths each year are linked to the
>infection, which is more than MRSA.
>
>The UK goverment has set up a special committee to establish whether the bug
>is being passed to humans through food.
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