Animals now picking up bugs from people, study shows
October 26, 2009Globalisation and industrialisation are causing diseases to spread from humans to animals, a study has shown.
Researchers from The Roslin Institute of the University of Edinburgh have shown that a strain of bacteria has jumped from humans to chickens.
It is believed to be the first clear evidence of bacterial pathogens crossing over from humans to animals and then spreading since animals were first domesticated some 10,000 years ago.
The study identified a form of the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus - of which MRSA is a subtype - in chickens, and found that the bacteria originally came from humans.
Genetic testing showed that the bacteria crossed over from one species to another around 40 years ago, coinciding with a move towards intensive poultry farming practices.
In comparison to the corresponding form of Staphylococcus aureus in humans, which was isolated to one geographical area, the strain in chickens was spread across different continents.
Infectious diseases in chicken flocks are a major economic burden on the industry and the spread of bacteria from humans to chickens could have a huge impact on poultry farming. If bacteria are also shown to be crossing over from humans to other livestock then there could be an impact on food security.
Dr. Ross Fitzgerald, of The Roslin Institute, said: "Half a century ago chickens were reared for their eggs, with meat regarded as a by-product. Now the demand for meat has led to a poultry industry dominated by a few multinational companies which supply a limited number of breeding lines to a global market - thereby promoting the spread of the bacteria around the world."
The bacteria are a major cause of animal diseases, including bone infections in poultry. Further research will look at analysing other livestock for emerging pathogens and diseases which may have come from humans.
The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Source: University of Edinburgh
-
Flies may spread drug-resistant bacteria from poultry operations
Mar 16, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Transporting broiler chickens could spread antibiotic-resistant organisms
Nov 24, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Free range ‘no increased infection risk’ for chickens
Apr 11, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Salmonella in garden birds responsive to antibiotics
Jun 02, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Arsenic in chicken feed may pose health risks to humans
Apr 09, 2007 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Engineers build first sub-10-nm carbon nanotube transistor
Feb 01, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (31) |
30
-
Something old, something new: Evolution and the structural divergence of duplicate genes
Jan 31, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
1
-
The hidden nanoworld of ice crystals: Revealing the dynamic behavior of quasi-liquid layers
Jan 30, 2012 |
5 / 5 (3) |
1
-
Stock market network reveals investor clustering
Jan 27, 2012 |
3.9 / 5 (23) |
8
-
Of microchemistry and molecules: Electronic microfluidic device synthesizes biocompatible probes
Jan 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
-
Classical and Quantum Mechanics via Lie algebras
Apr 15, 2011
- More from Physics Forums - Independent Research
More news stories
Complex wiring of the nervous system may rely on a just a handful of genes and proteins
Researchers at the Salk Institute have discovered a startling feature of early brain development that helps to explain how complex neuron wiring patterns are programmed using just a handful of critical genes. ...
5 hours ago |
4.9 / 5 (8) |
0
|
Both maternal and paternal age linked to autism
Older maternal and paternal age are jointly associated with having a child with autism, according to a recently published study led by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
10 hours ago |
4 / 5 (2) |
0
|
New understanding of DNA repair could eventually lead to cancer therapy
A research group in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta is hoping its latest discovery could one day be used to develop new therapies that target certain types of cancers.
9 hours ago |
4.8 / 5 (4) |
0
|
Curry spice component may help slow prostate tumor growth
Curcumin, an active component of the Indian curry spice turmeric, may help slow down tumor growth in castration-resistant prostate cancer patients on androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), a study from researchers ...
11 hours ago |
4.5 / 5 (6) |
0
|
Human cognitive performance suffers following natural disasters, researchers find
Not surprisingly, victims of a natural disaster can experience stress and anxiety, but a new study indicates that it might also cause them to make more errors - some serious - in their daily lives. In their upcoming Human Fa ...
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
7 hours ago |
4 / 5 (1) |
0
Google users warned of threat to smartphone wallets
Users of Google smartphone wallets were being warned on Friday that there is a way to crack pass codes intended to thwart thieves from going on illicit shopping sprees.
Anonymous knocks CIA website offline (Update)
The website of the Central Intelligence Agency was inaccessible on Friday after the hacker group Anonymous claimed to have knocked it offline.
New error-correcting codes guarantee the fastest possible rate of data transmission
Error-correcting codes are one of the triumphs of the digital age. Theyre a way of encoding information so that it can be transmitted across a communication channel such as an optical fiber o ...
The power of estrogen -- male snakes attract other males
A new study has shown that boosting the estrogen levels of male garter snakes causes them to secrete the same pheromones that females use to attract suitors, and turned the males into just about the sexiest ...
Putting the squeeze on planets outside our solar system
(PhysOrg.com) -- Using high-powered lasers, scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and collaborators discovered that molten magnesium silicate undergoes a phase change in the liquid state, abruptly ...
Humans may have helped the decline of African rainforests 3000 years ago
(PhysOrg.com) -- Large areas of rainforests in Central Africa mysteriously disappeared over three thousand years ago, to be replaced by savannas. The prevailing theory has been that the cause was a change ...
Oct 26, 2009
Rank: not rated yet
Oct 26, 2009
Rank: 5 / 5 (2)
Oct 26, 2009
Rank: not rated yet