ABSTRACT

Although, it is largely assumed that MRSA strains originated in humans, the emergence of the first pig-associated strain (ST398), which in very few years spread worldwide into diverse livestock species, reflects the prompt emergence of new pathogens. Even though most of these MRSA strains, now referred to as Livestock Associated MRSA (LA-MRSA), were isolated form healthy animals (colonized) some strains were also isolated from pathological lesions in pigs (Pomba et al. 2009). In addition to the animal to animal spread of these strains one of the early features of LA-MRSA was its ability to transfer from pigs to humans, reviewed in Barton (2014). Remarkably LA-MRSA colonization can be transient, which is suggestive of repeated contamination (Bangerter et al. 2016), and is a potential professional hazard for individuals that work in the meat production chain since these workers must spend several hours per day in direct contact with MRSA-positive animals and thus are indisputably exposed to a high risk of nasal colonization (Moodley et al.