The presence of E. coli in meat products could be responsible for roughly half a million urinary tract infections (UTIs) in the United States every year, according to new research.
According to scientists from George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, between 480,000 and 640,000 UTIs annually are caused by foodborne E. coli strains.
The study, published online in the journal One Health, was led by Lance Price and Cindy Liu. According to the researchers, they used a new genomic approach to track the origins of E. coli infections. Price is a professor of environmental and occupational health and director of the GW Antibiotic Resistance Action Center.
E. coli is the most common cause of UTIs, affecting up to 85 percent of cases each year. The bacteria can be found in both humans and animals, including those raised for meat. When these animals are slaughtered, the E. coli present in their gut can contaminate meat products and put people at risk for exposure.
The study found that a majority of raw meat products in the United States are contaminated with E. coli. Currently, only certain types of E. coli that cause diarrhea, such as E. coli O157:H7, are monitored with any seriousness in the country, but this new research suggests that other strains may also pose serious health risks.
“We’re used to the idea that foodborne E. coli can cause outbreaks of diarrhea, but the concept of foodborne E. coli causing urinary tract infections seems strange—that is, until you recognize that raw meat is often riddled with the E. coli strains that cause these infections,” Price said in a statement.
“Our study provides compelling evidence that dangerous E. coli strains are making their way from food animals to people through the food supply and making people sick—sometimes really sick.”
The research team collected raw chicken, turkey, and pork from major grocery store chains in Flagstaff and isolated E. coli from these meat samples. At the same time, they collected urine and blood E. coli isolates from patients hospitalized at Northern Arizona Healthcare’s Flagstaff Medical Center for urinary tract infections.
By analyzing the genomes of E. coli from meat and those from people, the research team identified segments of E. coli DNA unique to strains that colonize food animals versus humans, then developed a new predictive model to differentiate E. coli from the two sources.
They found that about 8 percent of E. coli UTIs in the Flagstaff area could be attributed to meat. Scaling this data from Flagstaff to the U.S. population overall, the researchers noted that it suggests that foodborne E. coli may cause hundreds of thousands of urinary tract infections across the United States every year.
Paul Keim, a co-author of the study and professor of microbiology at Northern Arizona University, said the conclusions from their “unprecedented” research model, which was based on intensive food sampling of an isolated community and the engagement of a dominant health care provider, is a powerful approach to public health research.
“The study design, along with advancements in genomic technologies, allowed us to establish the linkages between food sources and the clinical cases,” Keim said in the same statement. “The conclusions from this model situation will affect public health practices worldwide.”
According to the researchers, the foodborne E. coli strains identified in the study were not only associated with UTIs but were also capable of causing serious kidney and bloodstream infections.
It is estimated that between 36,000 and 40,000 people die from E. coli bloodstream infections in the United States each year, but it is currently not known what portion of these originate from foodborne exposures.
The study suggests that producers and the FDA could do a better job of monitoring potentially dangerous pathogens in food, most notably raw meat sold in grocery stores throughout the country. At the same time, consumers can take steps to limit their exposure to contaminated food. For example, home cooks should wash their hands carefully when preparing or handling raw meat and use separate surfaces to prepare raw and cooked foods.
The research team collaborated with Northern Arizona University and the clinical microbiology team at Flagstaff Medical Center. The study was supported by various organizations, including the Wellcome Trust, the National Institutes of Health, and the Cowden Endowment for Food Microbiology.
Any opinions, views and beliefs represented in this article are personal and belong solely to the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the opinion, views and beliefs of the organisation and employees of New Image™ International
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