Agribusiness

Drug resistance: How superbug-infected pigs from Denmark get into Britain unchecked

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Pigs infected with the superbug MRSA can be freely imported into the UK due to regulatory loopholes, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism reveal. An investigation has established that there is no mandatory screening for live breeding pigs leaving Denmark – where MRSA is rife throughout the country’s herd – and entering the UK. Experts are warning that if no action is taken, the UK’s pig herd could rapidly become infected. Such an epidemic could have a serious impact on human health, according to leading Danish microbiologist and MRSA expert, Professor Hans Jørn Kolmos. Thousands of people have contracted the livestock-associated strain of MRSA in Denmark and six have died from it in the last five years.

Agribusiness

Poor results: Giving up on resistant bacteria in Danish pigs

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In Denmark, there are more than twice as many pigs as humans, and twice as many antibiotics given to the animals as well. A perfect breeding ground for resistant bacteria – to which politics have failed to respond.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In November 2013, a 63-year-old man with diabetes and end-stage kidney got fever because of inflammation. Samples of blood grew the resistant pig-bacteria, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA, CC398. Three weeks later the man died.

Agribusiness

Nye 2015-tal: Svin og mink er de helt dominerende MRSA-smittekilder

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Mens 68 pct. procent af de konventionelle svinebedrifter har MRSA CC398, er der kun konstateret smittebærende svin hos seks procent af de økologiske svinebedrifter. Det viser Fødevarestyrelsens screening fra efteråret 2015. I minkindustrien er derimod hver femte virksomhed (23 pct.) inficeret med MRSA CC398, og som noget nyt blev der også fundet MRSA CC398 hos 10 pct. af de undersøgte besætninger med slagtekvæg.

Agribusiness

Den hemmelige svinestreg

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Revisorer har konstateret udbredt bilagsfusk med EU-midler i en række projekter i Videncenter for Svineproduktion. Fødevareministeriet har for et halvt år siden i stilhed lukket sagen uden at anmelde den til bagmandspolitiet eller EU, og ministeriet har valgt kun at undersøge en meget begrænset del af centrets projekter. Efter at der har været lukket for pengekassen i to år, må Seges, som centret hedder i dag, igen modtage EU-støtte. Straks alarmen lød fra Deloitte, trådte direktør Søren Gade i karakter. Revisionsfirmaet havde meddelt, at der var konstateret “væsentlige fejl” i et projektregnskab i Videncenter for Svineproduktion (VSP).

Agribusiness

Here is where pigs infected with MRSA live

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If you are a pig farmer and are looking for breeding animals that are free from MRSA, you will find here the first list ever showing farms whose pigs have officially been tested by the authorities and found to be infected. You will have to take extra precautions if you want to deal with these farms. You can demand that they produce a recent MRSA attest so you can know if their pigs are still infected. If you are looking for a job in the farm sector, the list can be used to find establishments which have or have had problems with bacteria in the workplace. For producers, neighbors and the local population in the vicinity of pig farmers, the list also provides clear and honest information about the presence of infection, as the Veterinary and Food Administration (Fødevarestyrelsen) investigated it in 2011 and 2014. See the list over 205 pig farms where there was found MRSACC398-bacteria in the period 2011-2014

In the latest investigation from 2014 there are 181 larger pig production units, which either produce piglets for sale or pigs to be slaughtered.

Agribusiness

Her lever de MRSA-inficerede svin

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Er du svineproducent og søger MRSA-frie avlsdyr, så kommer her den første liste nogensinde over virksomheder, hvis svin officielt har været testet af myndighederne og fundet smittebærende. Du skal derfor udvise ekstra omhu, hvis du vil handle med disse virksomheder. Du kan forlange, at de fremlægger en aktuel MRSA-attest, så du kan vide, om deres svin stadig er smittebærere.  

Søger du arbejde i landbruget, kan listen bruges til at finde virksomheder, der har eller har haft problemer med det bakterielle arbejdsmiljø. For leverandører, naboer og lokalbefolkningen omkring svinevirksomhederne på listen rummer den også åben og ærlig besked om smitteforholdene, sådan som Fødestyrelsen undersøgte dem i 2011 og 2014.

Agribusiness

Her lever de rene svin

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Er du svineproducent og søger MRSA-frie avlsdyr, så kommer her den første liste nogensinde over virksomheder, hvis svin officielt er testet af myndighederne og fundet rene. Søger man arbejde i landbruget, kan listen bruges til at finde virksomheder med styr på det bakterielle arbejdsmiljø. For leverandører, naboer og lokalbefolkningen omkring svinevirksomhederne på listen rummer den også åben og ærlig besked om smitteforholdene, sådan som Fødestyrelsen undersøgte dem i 2014. Se listen over de 82 svinefarme

Der er tale om 82 større svinefabrikker, der enten producerer smågrise til videresalg eller slagtesvin. Sammen med 196 andre blev deres dyr grundigt testet i 2014 for den smittefarlige stafylokok, der er kendt unden betegnelsen MRSACC398.

Investigations

Danish MEPs keep quiet about their use of EU-funds

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Most of the Danish Members of the European Parliament refuse to reveal their records concerning how they make use of EU-funds. A request for access to all their invoices has been denied by the European Parliament. The matter has been brought to light by two Danish journalists, Peter Jeppesen, Ekstra Bladet, and Nils Mulvad, Investigative Reporting Denmark, as part of an EU-wide collaboration, in looking at the refusals from the Parliament to the EU Court of Justice. On top of their monthly salaries, MEPs receive about 32,000 DKK monthly in so-called pencil money. This is equivalent to 4,300 Euro.

Investigations

Historic initiative by journalists taking the EU-Parliament to Court

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Journalists from all over Europe have asked the EU-court to rule on the hidden records of parliamentarians’ allowances. The 29 journalists representing all EU member countries have come together in a simultaneous complaint over the Parliament to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. The group called The MEPs Project (MEP – Member of European Parliament) consists of individuals who have all tried to get access to documentation of how the elected politicians from their respective country use their allowances. That is money given for different reasons on top of the salaries. All in all the accounts for 751 parliamentarian’s allowances have been asked for.

Agribusiness

MRSA superbug found in supermarket pork raises alarm over farming risks

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The discovery on UK shelves of pork contaminated with a livestock strain of MRSA prompts calls to curb misuse of antibiotics in intensive farming. Pork sold by several leading British supermarkets has been found to be contaminated with a strain of the superbug MRSA that is linked to the overuse of powerful antibiotics on factory farms, a Guardian investigation has revealed. Livestock-associated MRSA CC398, which originates in animals, has been found in pork products sold in Sainsbury’s, Asda, the Co-operative and Tesco. Of the 100 packets of pork chops, bacon and gammon tested by the Guardian, nine – eight Danish and one Irish – were found to have been infected with CC398. CC398 in meat, which poses little risk to the British public, can be transmitted by touching infected meat products or coming into contact with contaminated livestock or people, although it can be killed through cooking.