In early December, a research team from The Ohio State University announced that they had discovered the first transmissible carbapenem-resistant enterobactericeae in U.S. livestock on a farrow-to-finish operation. This discovery is a stark reminder of the importance of having the veterinary-client-patient relationship in order as the deadline for the VFD implementation looms on January 1, 2017. There was no actual risk to the pork supply. The resistant gene identified in the study was not in a market hog.
Source: National Hog Farmer, December 9, 2016.
This is a major development and it is imperative that we take measures to slow the emergence and spread of CRE because there are such major ramifications if they go unhindered,” says coauthor Joshua B. Daniels, a veterinary clinical microbiologist and director of the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory at The Ohio State University Veterinary Medical Center. “There is the primary concern of increased risk to human health, but there are also increased risks to animal health and the economic well-being of food producers — not only because disease may be more difficult to treat in livestock, but because perception may affect attitudes of consumers toward buying meat.”
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