Pig livestock workers likely to carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Photo credit: Peter O'Conner Photo credit: Peter O'Conner

A new study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases has found that people who work with swine were more likely to be carriers of multi-drug resistant bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus. In the research, 1,342 Iowans were tested for S. aureus in their nose, throat and on their skin. They found that swine livestock workers were six times more likely to be carriers of the drug-resistant bacteria than farmworkers who did not have contact with swine.