Supermarket products derived from meats such as chicken, turkey, or pork they are the ideal vehicle for certain microorganisms that could be causing millions of infections. Specifically, they are home to the infamous Escherichia coli (E. coli), a bacterium whose strains can cause food poisoning. But the effects of it do not end there. This “little bug” is also behind a good part of the urinary tract infections that we suffer from. Extensive new research published in the journal OneHealthrelates the consumption of these foods with nearly half a million cases of urinary tract infections (ITU) in the United States.
Poultry meat is one of the most consumed in the world. According to FAO data, by 2030 a per capita consumption in the world of around 24.6 kg of chicken is expected, almost 10 kg more than what was ingested in 2015. In our country, as the Food Consumption Report prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment points out, we Spaniards eat around 12.06 kilograms of this type of meat during 2021. In Spain alone, 680 million chickens are killed each year..
Current data confirms that a few E. coli strains could be causing up to 80% of UTIs worldwide. Its origin is not yet clear, although the team led by Lance Price, author of the study, a microbiologist and professor at George Washington University, in Washington DC, has found genetic evidence that some urinary tract infections are caused by strains of E. coli present in the chicken, turkey, and pork that people buy at the grocery store.
For a year, the researchers went out every two weeks to buy samples of all brands Raw chicken, turkey and pork available at nine major Flagstaff, Arizona supermarket chains. They also collected all E. coli samples isolated from patients at the city’s main medical center during the same period.
Analyzing E. coli genomes from meat and patients, the researchers focused on segments of Unique bacterial DNA from strains that colonize animals that people eat, no people. From there, they developed a mathematical model that predicted the probability that the E. coli came from a person or from food.
According to the conclusions of this work, it is estimated that about 8% of UTIs caused by E. coli can be attributed to a food source. This would translate to about half a million such infections among Americans each year.
A quarter of poultry meat is contaminated
Previous studies have linked the presence of E. coli in chicken and other poultry meats sold in supermarkets with urinary tract infections. This is the case of an investigation carried out at the School of Public Health of the University of California in 2017, which through the analysis of bacterial DNA in the meat and urine samples of more than 1,000 patients, detected that of the six types of E. coli strains that cause UTIs, three were found in the meat analyzed and sold in stores in California.
The main conclusion of this work was that up to 38% of meat products they were contaminated by E. coli. Almost a quarter. By types of meat, ground turkey was found to be the most contaminated (73% of cases), followed by chicken breast (43%), ground beef (18%), and pork ribs (15%). %).
In any case, they have not yet been published. conclusive studies that clearly demonstrate the relationship between E. coli strains found in supermarket meat and urinary tract infections.
urine infections
Approximately, half of all women will have a urinary tract infection (UTI) in their lifetime, mainly due to human anatomy. This situation occurs when a bacterium infects the urinary system reaching the bladder. The vast majority of these infections are caused by E. coli bacteria.
In most cases, UTIs occur in the bladder (cystitis) and cause symptoms such as frequent urination, burning during urination, and pain in the lower abdomen below the navel. In a small number of cases, UTIs give rise to more serious, even life-threatening infections, if they spread to the kidneys or blood. For example, It can become complicated if it reaches the kidney, producing pyelonephritis.which must be treated on many occasions in the hospital with intravenous antibiotics.
It can also be the case of people who have cystitis without symptoms. If the bladder infection is not treated or progresses, it can produce a kidney infection that will be characterized by pain on the flank of the abdomen (kidney area), fever, nausea and/or vomiting.
Cystitis is not a medical emergency and treated with 3-day antibiotics. Even without antibiotics and increasing water intake, the infection can disappear. Some people are at higher risk of complications such as pregnant women, elderly patients, and men; also diabetics, with kidney disease or with a weakened immune system.
What is E. coli?
E. coli is best known for causing food poisoning outbreaks, but most strains of this bacteria are harmless. In fact, the E. coli lives happily in the human intestine, as part of the wide range of beneficial bacteria that make up the body’s “microbiome.” Sometimes, however, when that intestinal E. coli is shed in the feces, it can migrate into the urinary tract and cause a UTI. That is, at least, the origin of most urinary tract infections.
Discussion about this post