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MRSA arose in nature before human and livestock use of antibiotics
Up to 60 per cent of hedgehogs carry a type of MRSA called mecC-MRSA.

Hedgehogs have carried the superbug long before human antibiotic use. 

Scientists at the University of Cambridge, along with other international institutions, have discovered that a type of MRSA arose in hedgehogs and existed in nature 200 years before the use of antibiotics in humans and livestock.

Human and livestock use of antibiotics has traditionally been blamed for the emergence of the antibiotic resistant superbug, however, these new findings suggest that the initial emergence of MRSA was a natural biological process. 

Hedgehog surveys from Denmark and Sweden discovered that up to 60 per cent of hedgehogs carry a type of MRSA called mecC-MRSA, while high levels of MRSA were discovered on hedgehogs across Europe and New Zealand. 

Senior author of the study, Dr Ewan Harrison, said: “Using sequencing technology we have traced the genes that give mecC-MRSA its antibiotic resistance all the way back to their first appearance, and found they were around in the nineteenth century.

“Our study suggests that it wasn’t the use of penicillin that drove the initial emergence of MRSA, it was a natural biological process. We think MRSA evolved in a battle for survival on the skin of hedgehogs, and subsequently spread to livestock and humans through direct contact.”

The current thinking is that this antibiotic resistance evolved in Staphylococcus aureus as an adaptation to existing alongside the fungus Trichophyton erinacei on the skin of hedgehogs, which produces its own antibiotics.

Professor Mark Holmes, senior author of the report and researcher at the University of Cambridge, commented on how the study supports careful use of antibiotics to lessen the significant threat to human health that MRSA poses: “This study is a stark warning that when we use antibiotics, we have to use them with care. 

“There’s a very big wildlife ‘reservoir’ where antibiotic-resistant bacteria can survive – and from there it’s a short step for them to be picked up by livestock, and then to infect humans.” 

Dr Sophie Lund Rasmussen of WildCRU, University of Oxford, and co-author of the study explains: "Even though this finding is news to us, the hedgehogs have carried this bacterium for at least 200 years without causing any major infections in humans.

"Therefore, the advice is as always, to appreciate and support the hedgehogs entering your garden and to maintain a good hand hygiene when feeding and possibly handling hedgehogs. Both for the sake of the hedgehogs and ourselves."

Published in Nature, the study 'Emergence of methicillin resistance predates the clinical use of antibiotics' is a collaborative effort including the University of Cambridge, the Wellcome Sanger Insitute, Denmark's Serum Statens Institut and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and is free-to-access. 

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Vets to run marathon for World Animal Protection

News Story 1
 Two recently graduated veterinary surgeons will be running the London Marathon in April to raise money for the charity World Animal Protection.

Alex Bartlett and Maeve O'Neill plan to run the race together if they are given the same start times.

Dr O'Neill said: "You're always limited in what you can do to help animals, so it is nice to raise money for a charity that helps animals around the world."

Dr Bartlett added: "I have never run a marathon before and am excited to run my first one for such a good cause!"

Both Dr Bartlett and Dr O'Neill have fundraising pages online. 

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News Shorts
BSAVA releases new Guide to Procedures

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has published a new edition of its Guide to Procedures for Small Animal Practice.

It has added four new procedures; cystostomy tube placement, endotracheal intubation, point-of-care ultrasound and wet-to-dry dressings.

BSAVA says that it is an essential step-by-step guide to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed in practice. The textbook includes new images and illustrations, as well as high-definition videos for use prior to procedures.

Nick Bexfield and Julia Riggs, editors of the new edition, said: "We have built upon the success of the previous editions by responding to the feedback received from the BSAVA readership, and hope this new guide helps to further increase the confidence and accuracy with which these procedures are performed."

Print copies are available in the BSAVA store, with a digital version in the BSAVA library.