The infectious bacteria known as MRSA is now a familiar threat to people who spend time in a hospital or nursing home. For over 40 years, MRSA has vexed health care officials, where the drug-resistant “superbug” takes advantage of patients with weakened immune systems. More recently, exposure to MRSA, also known as drug-resistant staph, increasingly happens outside of hospitals. One of the most fertile breeding grounds for MRSA is on the farm.

In her new book, Superbug: The Fatal Menace of MRSA, journalist Maryn McKenna has taken a look at what the spread of MRSA means for health care here and around the world.

RELATED:
National Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production
PEW Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming
Center for Disease Control: MRSA