MRSA Found In Pork Samples

SEATTLE -- A ground-breaking investigation by KOMO-TV in Seattle has found toxic, life-threatening Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) bacteria in some pork you might buy at grocery stores.

This drug-resistant bacteria is already responsible for more deaths in this country than AIDS. What makes MRSA so potentially dangerous is the bacteria can make you sick just by touching it.

In spite of the risk, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has resisted testing store-bought pork for the aggressive bacteria. So, in partnership with Fisher Broadcasting stations across the region, KOMO decided to test it themselves.

A few months ago a University of Iowa study found a virulent strain of MRSA in pigs. But, in spite of that information, no one from the USDA is testing.

"As far as I'm concerned," said Goldburg, "USDA and FDA are kind of asleep at the wheel on this one."

Like most other bacteria, MRSA will die if it's thoroughly cooked. But unlike E. coli or salmonella, MRSA causes skin infections, so just touching raw pork that has the bacteria could be a problem, according to both Samadpour and Goldburg.

"So that raises the possibility," says Goldburg, "that simply handling meat could potentially give you a very nasty infection."

Canada and several European countries already test pork in grocery stores for MRSA. We contacted the USDA and were told they have no plans for any testing

Right now, there is not enough information to make pigs the culprits in the recent rise in MRSA cases — particularly since many are related to places such as gyms and locker rooms, which are far from the farm. In fact, despite the close contact with swine, there is no data indicating that pork producers or workers are more susceptible to MRSA than the rest of the population. In the Canadian study, for example, while one-fifth of the producers were found to be carrying the same form of MRSA as their pigs, they did not have a higher rate of MRSA-associated illness than the general population.