Confirmation of LA-MRSA in pigs in the UK

WE wish to report the isolation of livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) from a postweaning piglet in Northern Ireland. While LA-MRSA is a relatively common finding in pigs in some EU countries (EFSA 2009a), we believe this to be the first reported isolation of LA-MRSA from a pig in the UK. The piglet was one of a group of five piglets submitted to the Omagh disease surveillance laboratory of the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) in May 2014 with a history of pneumonia and wasting. There was a history of 10 per cent piglet postweaning mortality over the previous two to three months on the farm involved. Gross postmortem findings and …