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Prairie Swine Centre is an affiliate of the University of Saskatchewan
Prairie Swine Centre is grateful for the assistance of the George Morris Centre in developing the economics portion of Pork Insight.
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Zinc Oxide and Antimicrobial Resistance in Pigs
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre by admin on August 18, 2015
The objective of this research was to investigate whether therapeutic use of zinc oxide (ZnO) in swine production creates selective pressure for the emergence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) due to co-location of the zinc-resistance gene (czrC) and methicillin-resistance gene (mecA) within the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec). A randomized-controlled trial was completed using 110 pigs that were naturally colonized with czrC-positive MRSA. The prevalence of MRSA was significantly higher when pigs were fed a ration containing 3000 ppm of zinc oxide compared to the control group (100 ppm zinc). In an observational study of 26 farms, it was found that the use of therapeutic levels of zinc oxide (>2000 ppm) was associated with a higher likelihood of finding MRSA in nasal swabs of weanling pigs. The overall conclusion from these studies is that high levels of zinc oxide in starter rations are associated with a higher prevalence of pigs carrying MRSA.