MicrobeWorld

Drug-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus, a bacteria linked to a wide range of human diseases, are present in meat and poultry from U.S. grocery stores at unexpectedly high rates, according to a nationwide study by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).

Nearly half of the meat and poultry samples - 47 percent - were contaminated with S. aureus, and more than half of those bacteria - 52 percent - were resistant to at least three classes of antibiotics, according to the study published today, 15 April, in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.