Living near to large numbers of pig farms is associated with increased risk of MRSA colonisation at the time of hospital admission in rural Iowa veterans, report Margaret Carrel of the Department of Geographical and Sustainability Sciences at the University of Iowa and co-authors.

In a paper published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, they explain that, among 1,036 patients, residential proximity within one mile of large swine facilities was associated with nearly double the risk of MRSA colonisation at admission (relative risk = 1.8786; 95 per cent confidence interval = 1.0928-3.2289; P=0.0239).

After controlling for multiple admissions and age, the risk was associated with nearly triple the odds of MRSA colonisation (odds ratio = 2.76; 95 per cent confidence interval - 1.2728-5.9875; P=0.0101).

Reference

Carrel M, M.L. Schweizer, M.V. Sarrazin, T.C. Smith and E.N. Perencevich. 2014. Residential proximity to large numbers of swine in feeding operations is associated with increased risk of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonization at time of hospital admission in rural Iowa veterans. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. Feb;35(2):190-3. doi: 10.1086/674860. Epub 2014 Jan 8.