Danish Food Minister Mette Gjerskov has tasked the country's Food & Drug Administration (Fødevarestyrelsen) with examining the prevalence of MRSA in Danish pigs. The investigation, announced by the minister in late January, is being launched in response to new figures showing a dramatic increase in prevalence of the 'superbugs' in Danish slaughterhouses.

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Recent FDA figures reveal 88 percent of pigs passing through Danish slaughterhouses are infected with the bug (MRSA CC398). The rate is double what it was a year ago, and this has caused concerns amongst Danish government officials; the government has introduced tight controls on antimicrobials in a bid to halt the spread of anti-biotic resistant bacteria, but prevalence appears to be rising nonetheless.

Upon launching the investigation, Mette Gjerskov said that and an additional study of pig herds should show whether there has been an increase in MRSA on Danish pig farms. Ms Gjerskov declared, "There are indications that many pigs are infected in the slaughterhouse or on the way to the slaughterhouse." However, she said more clarity is needed, adding that her investigation will hopefully build up a clearer picture of how and where infection takes place.

The Danish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries (FVK) said its authorities already monitor bacteria closely, and there is nothing to suggest people eating pig meat will contract the disease. However, the ministry did warn that MRSA spreads to humans from animal through regular contact, and this spread is particularly troubling as the bacteria is resistant to several types of antibiotics.
 

Ms Gjerskov added, "It is an issue we take very seriously. Resistant bacteria are a threat to human health, and the health minister and I have therefore undertaken a number of initiatives to address the problem."

The two ministers have set up a task force to produce "concrete suggestions" for how the spread of MRSA from pigs can be stopped. In October 2012, the government called for tighter regulations on antimicrobial use in farming, as part of Pan-European measures to tackle antibiotic resistance and the rising prevalence of 'superbugs' in meat tested.

The calls were made after a report on disease surveillance by veterinary Institutes in the country revealed a rapid surge in the prevalence of drug-resistant bacteria in meat and suggested that strict measures adopted to tackle resistance in Denmark were being undermined by continued overuse of drugs elsewhere in the EU.   

In January this year, the Danish Parliament reached an agreement on establishing a new veterinary body with a dedicated focus on the responsible use of antibiotics to combat the development of resistance. The four year programme will include action against "inappropriate use of medication," such as prophylactic use of antibiotics, where all animals in a herd are routinely given antibiotics, although they are not sick. Uses such as this are thought to accelerate the development of resistance.

The latest figures for the incidence of MRSA CC398 on Danish farms are from 2010 and 2011. They showed MRSA was present in 16 per cent of pig herds. However, since then testing in slaughterhouses in 2011 and 2012 revealed that respectively 44 and 88 percent of pigs examined tested positive for MRSA.