The food minister, Dan Jørgensen, has launched a five-point plan aimed at keeping MRSA contained in pig farms after a spike in deaths related to the multidrug-resistant swine bacteria.
Demands for farmers working with pigs will include changing clothes, washing hands and agreeing a contagion protection plan in co-operation with veterinarians.
“We must end the spread of MRSA from the pig farms to society at large,” Jørgensen said in a press release.
“I will intensify the battle against MRSA by stopping routine herd medicating and reducing the overuse of antibiotics at pig farms.”
READ MORE: Drug-resistant swine bacteria out of control, says professor
Several deaths
The routine medicating of herds was banned on Sunday, and it is now being investigated whether the antibiotic tariffs, introduced as a deterrent, are working as intended.
The MRSA staphylococcus bacteria is resistant to standard penicillin and can be transferred from animal to human and from human to human. At least three Danes have been killed by the bacteria in recent years.
