UTIs Can Be Caused By Eating Contaminated Chicken: Study

What do chickens have to do with UTIs?

No, this isn't a bad joke. A new study shows that UTIs can sometimes be caused by eating contaminated chicken. That's surprising because until now, doctors have blamed this common infection on transmission of Escherichia coli bacteria -- or E.coli -- from the bowel to the urethra, most commonly due to poor hygiene or during sex.

"We suspect that the transmission is occurring the same way other foodborne agents are transferred," study researcher Amee Manges, PhD, of McGill University, told MedPage Today. That means transmission of the bacteria may occur when you don't handle food safely or properly, you have kitchen contamination or you undercook the chicken.

Researchers of the study, which was published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, tested 320 samples of beef, pork and chicken for their E. coli. They found that the E. coli in the chicken was much more genetically related to those of human urinary tract infections, compared with the E. coli in the beef and pork.

Urinary tract infections occur when bacteria, fungi or viruses infect the urinary tract, with bacteria begin the most frequent cause of infection, according to the National Institutes of Health. The body is usually able to remove bacteria from the urinary tract, but sometimes the bacteria are able to live there and grow, causing an infection.

Bacteria that are in the bowel are the usual culprits for UTIs, with E. coli causing most cases, the National Institutes of Health reported.

"The possibility that ExPEC [E. coli] causing UTIs and other extraintestinal infections in humans could originate from a food animal reservoir raises public health concern," researchers wrote in the study. "New interventions may be needed to reduce the level of food contamination and risk for transmission."

Typically, salmonella poisoning is the expected health risk that comes from eating undercooked chicken. The bacteria is the No. 1 cause of food poisoning, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

Recently, a study by researchers from Ohio State University showed the economic impact of eating a bad burger -- or piece of chicken, or mussel, or any other undercooked or ill-prepared food that causes you to spend the next few days in bed. Food poisoning costs the U.S. more than $77 billion a year, according to the study.

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Comments

[TSRVT]

03:13 PM on 02/20/2012

Just prepare and cook it properly and this is a non issue. Just more propaganda from the Consumer Paranoia Institute regurgitated by HP.

[frank day]

09:40 PM on 02/20/2012

Easier said than done. Especially if you are eating out.

[Rachel Crockett]

10:01 AM on 02/20/2012

I have to ask what exactly it the mechanism behind this transition to make it warrant this panic? That the specific E. coli on the undercooked poultry is eaten, digested, goes through the gut ends up in the kidney to the bladder and then causes a UTI? Improbable.

More than likely just the same E. coli that causes UTI, but transmission is the same through fecal/urethra transmission. The E. coli in question is already in the gut before the chicken is eaten. So while it’s interesting that the chicken may also be contaminated with it, doesn’t mean it is the cause of the UTI.

[JessePlus]

09:24 PM on 02/20/2012

I'm with you. HCL in the stomach normally kills bacteria before it moves on into the intestinal tract. Low stomach acid in impaired digestive systems would allow it through. Over-prescribed antacids to the elderly who normally have low stomach acid would be one HUGE problem that needs to be reported about, but nooooo... doctors and big Pharma wouldn't get huge profits from people taking raw apple cider vinegar or HCL w/ pepsin pills (both relatively inexpensive and purchased OTC, that's over-the-counter).

They don't explain how this bacteria would get over into the urinary tract, other than the same way it has before - improper wiping. If any reason for the panic? Sure, recently in the news it was mentioned that chickens are being genetically modified to produce chickens with less campylobacter bacteria. If "they" (wish I remembered the source) want support from the ignorant masses, they must create a panic toward any and all chicken bacteria to support their seemingly irrational cause to destroy nature for the greedy purpose of making more money.

For those who don't understand the danger of GMO's, here's a basic overview: http://www.organicauthority.com/foodie-buzz/eight-reasons-gmos-are-bad-for-you.html

[IDIOTA]

04:38 PM on 02/19/2012

Within 40 hours after birth, human babies have E Coli in their guts. How does it get there?

[tamp1974]

08:32 PM on 02/18/2012

"Urinary tract infections occur when bacteria, fungi or viruses infect the urinary tract, with bacteria begin the most frequent cause of infection, according to the National Institutes of Health. The body is usually able to remove bacteria from the urinary tract, but sometimes the bacteria are able to live there and grow, causing an infection."

Did you read the article?

[Coz McRae]

03:28 PM on 02/18/2012

Bad article, bad journalism: never defines or explains the acronym "UTI"--though the title of the video does.

[lele23]

10:51 PM on 02/17/2012

Yet another reason I'm happy to be vegan.

[jgamble28]

06:12 PM on 02/19/2012

me to

[Jude Arsenault]

07:14 PM on 02/17/2012

chickens are the most abused animals on the planet.i can't imagine that eating such an abused animal could ever be healthy.