NYTimes article upsets local farmers

CARROLL COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI) - New York Times Columnist Nicholas Kristof put the small town of Camden under the microscope this week after reporting that local hog farms may have caused an outbreak of MRSA or staph infections. Carroll County Ag Association member Miriam Robeson said the article is not completely accurate.

"I think it's a very poorly researched article and it's intended just to make people upset about the livestock industry, not to really inform them," said Robeson.

Kristof alleges that hog farms, like one near the Camden area, overuses antibiotics in livestock feed. He said the process leads to MRSA in the pigs, which could be transferred to humans who ear pork, use a contaminated plate or utensil or from wastes leaking into ground water.

Robeson said Kristof's accusations do not represent how Carroll County farmers operate.

"The producers in Carroll County are very responsible. They work very hard. They have to drink the water, eat the food, live with the animals or live near the animals that they take care of. They're going to be very responsible producers," said Robeson.

It was the late Dr. Thomas Anderson, of Camden, who informed Kristof that he treated more than 50 MRSA cases from 2007 to 2008. Linda Barnard, Anderson's assistant for eight years, said they saw MRSA patients the most in the fall and winter of both years. She said she relayed the same information to Kristof during his visit in January of this year. She stressed that Dr Anderson did not intend to pinpoint hog operations, he only speculated.

Scott said linking the overuse of antibiotics can't be true because it's just not cost effective.

"We are very heavily government regulated on the amount of antibiotics we can use. It's just an extra expense that the producer doesn't need to stay profitable. So, he can't afford to waste antibiotics," Scott said.

Purdue University experts on livestock and antibiotic resistance, Paul Ebner and Ching Ching Wu responded to the article calling it "highly speculative."
Indiana Pork also issued a statement that read "if you read between the lines, there is some telling language."

The New York Times article stated Dr. Anderson died abruptly at the age of 54.  It said there was no autopsy performed, but blood test suggested a heart attack or aneurysm.

Barnard said although Dr. Anderson had MRSA about three or four times, it was not believed to be the cause of his death.

MRSA is short for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.