Cheese could be fueling antibiotic resistance
- Antibiotic resistance is deemed to be one of the biggest threats to humanity
- Consuming cheese made from raw milk could be contributing to the problem
- Swiss researchers have found a new antibiotic resistant gene in dairy cows
- Methicillin resistant genes would create deadly MRSA if transferred to humans
- However, the bacteria it is found on is not known to cause disease in humans
Stephen Matthews For Mailonline
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Before you tuck into your Emmental this evening, be aware of its potential side effects.
Consuming cheese made from raw milk could be contributing to deadly antibiotic resistance, a controversial study has found.
Deemed to be one of the biggest threats to humanity, the issue has previously been cited as severe as terrorism and global warming.
Consuming cheese made from raw milk could be contributing to deadly antibiotic resistance, a study has found
The resistance crisis is causing usually harmless infections to turn into deadly superbugs that don’t respond to a range of medications.
And now Swiss researchers have identified a new antibiotic resistant gene in dairy cows that could exacerbate the problem.
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Known as Macrococcus caseolyticus, the seemingly harmless bacteria is naturally found on the skin of dairy cows and can be spread during milking.
Yet one of the strain’s genes, known as mecD, could jeopardise the reserve of drugs used to treat MRSA, University of Bern scientists claim.
Deemed to be one of the biggest threats to humanity, the issue of superbugs has previously been cited as severe as terrorism and global warming (stock)
The methicillin resistant gene may turn Staphylococcus aureus, a bacteria found on human skin, into the deadly superbug, the scientists claim.
WHAT IS ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE?
For decades, antibiotics have been so overused by GPs and hospital staff that the bacteria have evolved to become resistant.
Doctors claim medicines including penicillin no longer work on sore throats, skin infections and, more seriously, pneumonia.
Chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies claimed last year that the threat is as severe as terrorism – with patients dying from minor cuts after succumbing to drug-resistant bugs.
As a result, it is estimated that the rise of superbugs will cause up to ten million deaths a year by 2050.
Experts warn medicine will be taken back to the ‘dark ages’ if antibiotics are rendered ineffective, with even minor operations becoming impossible without drugs to turn to.
The superbug, which cannot be killed using conventional antibiotics, infects at least 800 people in England a year, the latest figures show.
Rates are falling but more than a quarter of patients die within 30 days of being infected, the NHS believes.
However, M. caseolyticus is not known to cause disease in humans, according to the study in Scientific Reports.
The strain of bacteria is usually killed off in pasteurisation, meaning milk drinkers aren’t at risk – but it can stay in raw dairy products.
The researchers are concerned that if the bacteria was able to transfer the gene to humans, then a new stronger form of MRSA could emerge.
Lead author Vincent Perreten said: ‘It is imperative to keep an eye on the evolution and spread of this novel resistance gene in both human and animal bacteria.’
Commenting on the study, Coilin Nunan of advocacy group Alliance to Save our Antibiotics said: ‘The finding emphasises the need for far better MRSA surveillance in UK livestock and for reduced use of antibiotics in farming.’
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