>
>Dear MCE Colleagues,
>
>There has been a great deal of recent press/TV/discussion
>concerning methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
>bacteria in schools, the workplace, hospitals and various places
>in the community. Today, the most recent issue of the Journal of
>Dairy Science (2007, 90:5351) was published, and it contains an
>important Letter to the Editor describing the identification a
>methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus species in raw milk from an
>organic dairy in Switzerland.
>
>While this was a single cow, two different strains of the Staph
>bacteria were found two months apart. It was a Staph. epidermis
>species, not the Staph aureus that concerns us most in the US.
>
>The important component, however, is that this dairy herd had
>been managed using Swiss organic dairy standards for some time,
>and though they are a bit less restrictive than the US, there are
>strict prohibitions and limits on the use of antibiotics. Still
>antibiotic-resistant Staph was found in this milk. It's common in
>Switzerland to make raw-milk cheese, and the authors of the
>Letter to the Editor wanted to bring to the attention of the
>world dairy community the important risks of consuming raw milk
>and raw milk products.
>
>MRSA is transferred via contact and open wounds or openings to
>the body, so it's possible for MRSA to be transferred from a
>human to the mammary gland of a dairy cow. More information on
>MRSA from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can
>be found at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/ar_mrsa_ca.html.
>
>There is a growing interest among dairy producers who would like
>to market raw (unpasteurized) milk to consumers. This trend in
>interest reflects the demand for raw milk by consumers in our
>urban area. Additionally, there are some MCE professionals who
>support this approach. I stress in the strongest possible terms,
>that this is unwise for not only dairy producers but also for MCE
>professionals to support this practice that has now been shown to
>be risky. Clearly, any dairy producer who wished to take the risk
>and sell raw milk or raw milk products (like cheese or yogurt)
>should subject their products to regular and careful
>bacteriological analysis.
>
>The full Letter to the Editor is available to all UMD employees
>via the UMD Library Researchport (www.researchport.umd.edu) if
>you are interested. After confirming your affiliation with UMD,
>just click on "E-Journals" and search for the Journal of Dairy
>Science.
>
>I would hope that this information would be communicated to all
>of MCE's potential audiences via newsletters and other
>appropriate communications media. For more information on this
>topic, don't hesitate to contact me.
>
>Mark Varner
>Professor and Extension Dairy Scientist
>markv@...