Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

New Superbug Strain Found In Cows and People

Posted by Soulskill on from the biological-warfare-in-the-bovine-revolution dept.

sciencehabit writes "A novel form of deadly drug-resistant bacteria that hides from a standard test has turned up in Europe. Researchers found the so-called MRSA strain in both dairy cows and humans in the United Kingdom, suggesting that it might be passed from dairies to the general population. But before you toss your milk, don't panic: The superbug isn't a concern in pasteurized dairy products."

6 of 144 comments (clear)

  1. We all know what happens when stories like this by gcnaddict · · Score: 3, Insightful
    break.

    IT SPREADS FROM MILK TO PEOPLE? DUMP ALL MILK.

    It doesn't even matter if it's pasteurized. How many people in the general population even know what pasteurization means? Some food purists only know that the process makes food taste a little different, even if it's healthier as a result.

    --
    Viable Slashdot alternatives: https://pipedot.org/ and http://soylentnews.org/
    1. Re:We all know what happens when stories like this by erroneus · · Score: 3, Insightful

      This guy does not need to be marked as troll. He's right. People don't know what pasteurization is. Ask someone. And many "food purists" think raw milk is better. (It is under extremely controlled situations and if your immune system is capable of handling 'variations' as they occur! hint: many people are so clean that a common cold is a a pygmy disaster waiting to happen to them)

      And yes, he is also correct in pointing out that people over-react wildly and stupidly. Maybe not the slashdot crowd, but most definitely the fox-news crowd among others.

  2. Re:"The superbug isn't a concern... by Samantha+Wright · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm pretty sure you may want to read the sentence that comes before that one. No one's saying it's not a concern, just that it doesn't survive the pasteurization process. Which makes sense, because pasteurization involves a great deal of heat, and the kind of microbes that infect the human body tend not to do well with extreme levels of heat.

    --
    Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
  3. Re:It's bigger than the FDA by erroneus · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Hehe... no, you didn't miss anything. What you did do, however, is presume my statements were limited to bovine livestock. And I am speaking of the prophylactic use of antibiotics in the dairy industry, it's true, but I did not specify.

    The problem is clear, present, immediate and demonstrable. For the FDA to fail to act now would mean they are ignoring the facts as available to the world public. Even the US government which has long been a denier of climate change has eventually acknowledged it as fact.

  4. Re:Evolving by jamesh · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It would be good, but what would be the reason for the descent of that colony to stop being immune to the previous drugs?

    genetic bitrot

  5. Re:Pasteurization by Rufty · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Maybe this will put a stop to the rare steak nonsense.

    --
    Red to red, black to black. Switch it on, but stand well back.