Superbug hideout: Finding MRSA in U.S. wastewater treatment plants

摘要

For many years, the "superbug" methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was confined to hospital patients, but since the 1990s it has been infecting otherwise healthy people in settings such as schools and locker rooms. Researchers now report the discovery of MRSA in U.S. wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), identifying another pos sible environmental reservoir for the bacteria .People shed MRSA from their nostrils and skin and in their feces, which makes wastewater a likely vector for the bacteria. Previous research had identified MRSA in Swedish WWTPs, but no studies had been conducted on U.S. facilities.