The discovery of antibiotic resistant MRSA bacteria in pigs in the UK has reignited desperate calls for action to tackle the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance.

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On Monday, campaign groups urged the government to act on the issue, after a case of MRSA was found in a pig in Northern Ireland. This is the first time the superbug has ever been detected in a British pig, though Livestock Associated (LA) MRSA was detected on a poultry farm for the first time last October.

The discovery comes just a short time after Prime Minister David Cameron launched an inquiry into the lack of new antibiotics in development. Campaigners have said the focus of the inquiry is misplaced, and urged for more effort to be put into conserving existing antimicrobial treatments, which are essential for treating serious infections in humans and animals. They warn that overuse and widespread misuse of antibiotics in human medicine and agriculture risks bringing about a future where simple infections that have been easily treatable for decades become deadly killers.

In May, experts from the University of Edinburgh called for global action to tackle the growing threat of resistance. They warned that the danger humans face from antibiotic resistance is equal to that posed by climate change. Their sentiments were echoed by the UK's chief medical officer Professor Dame Sally Davies.   

In response to the discovery in Northern Ireland this week, campaign group the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics called on the government to carry out a full MRSA survey of the UK pig industry. The Alliance also wants to see immediate restrictions placed on the farm use of antibiotics classified as 'critically important' in human medicine in order to reduce the spread of the bacteria.

Alliance spokesperson Alison Craig said, "The finding of MRSA in a UK pig has to kick-start the government into finally taking action against the overuse of antibiotics in farming. In the Netherlands, they have cut total farm antibiotic use by 63% in the last six years, whereas in the UK, use has actually gone up during that time."

Though the discovery of MRSA in a UK pig sets a dangerous precedent in the county, LA-MRSA has been present in pig herds in other countries for a number of years; the disease was first found in pigs in the Netherlands in 2004, and has since become widespread in intensively farmed pigs, poultry and veal calves in many European countries and in North America.

Although the disease has been found in milk and on poultry farms, it is not known how common the bacteria are on farms in the UK, due to a lack of evidence from surveys.

Cóilín Nunan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Alliance, said, "Data from the Netherlands also shows that their cuts in farm antibiotic use have resulted in fewer human cases of livestock-associated MRSA, providing clear evidence that reducing farm antibiotic use is beneficial for human health."