A pilot study published last week by researchers at the University of Iowa has found high prevalence of MRSA in swine (49%) and swine workers (45%) on a commercial confinement operation with farms scattered in Iowa and Illinois.

The study, published in the PLoS ONE, v. 4(1); 2009, is the first to demonstrate the presence of the dangerous MRSA strain ST 398 in the U.S. The results add to the mounting body of evidence pointing to farm animals as reservoirs for antibiotic resistant strains of MRSA under circumstances in which the bacteria are passed to humans