Undercooked meat may be to blame for one in 14 UTIs, scientists say

Undercooked meat may be responsible for hundreds of thousands of urinary tract infections (UTIs) each year, scientists warn.

Previous studies have shown that E. coli causes up to 90 percent of all urinary tract infections.

But researchers have found that about 8 percent are derived from that E Coli strains that lurk in raw meats like chicken, turkey and pork.

This bacteria can live in the gut before moving into the urinary tract and cause painful symptoms, such as pain in your side or back and shivering and chills.

E. coli causes about 6 to 8 million UTIs in the US each year.

Researchers at George Washington University found that about 8 percent of all urinary tract infections in the US come from E Coli strains lurking in raw meats like chicken, turkey and pork

In the UK, urinary tract infections are estimated to lead to 7 million GP consultations each year. According to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), E. coli is “the most common cause.”

Researchers at George Washington University collected blood and urine samples from E. coli infections at local hospitals in an Arizona town.

They then compared this to foodborne zoonotic strains of E. coli found in available brands of raw chicken, turkey and pork in nine major supermarket chains.

The meat was chosen because it was found to be likely to carry the E. coli that causes urinary tract infections.

Write in the journal A healthresearchers said that “approximately 8 percent of clinical E. coli isolates in our population were found to be foodborne zoonotic strains.”

The scientists said vaccinating animals against the most dangerous strains of E. coli could be a way to prevent the bacteria from entering the food supply.

“Accurately identifying strains involved in recent animal-to-human spillover is critical to developing targeted intervention strategies in food animal populations,” the researchers added.

Lance Price, a professor of environmental and occupational health at George Washington University, added: “On an individual level, I would say that anyone who is already prone to urinary tract infections should take extra care when handling raw meat, especially poultry.

“If people handle raw meat products and don’t wash enough – which can be tricky – the E.coli can end up directly in the urogenital tract.”

He added: ‘Our study provides compelling evidence that dangerous strains find their way from food animals to humans through the food supply and make people sick – sometimes really sick.’

However, the scientists also acknowledged several limitations of the study, including reliance on a single location.

“Therefore, the generalizability of the results is unknown,” they said.

The percentage of meat E. coli causing UTIs was also assessed without considering beef, so the number of FZEC cases may have been underreported, limiting the findings.

The experts also did not consider “companion species isolates,” including cats and dogs, which prevented them from evaluating their potential role in transmitting E. coli strains.

Strains of the bacteria are usually found in the intestines of humans and animals and are usually harmless.

However, if certain strains get into vulnerable parts of the body, such as the urinary tract — a collective term for the bladder, kidneys, and connected tubes — it can lead to debilitating and often dangerous infections.

Antibiotics are the most common treatment, followed by drinking plenty of water to flush bacteria from the body.

But some urinary tract infections can also lead to more serious kidney infections; Symptoms include fever, chills, back pain, nausea or vomiting, and life-threatening blood infections.

Each year, more than a million Britons – 80 per cent of them women – develop a urinary tract infection and experience an extreme burning sensation when urinating.

Older people are more at risk because the bladder works less well with age and may not empty completely, leaving bacteria in the urinary tract.

Studies show that one in ten women over the age of 65 have had a urinary tract infection in the past year.

For women over 85, this rises to almost three in ten. In elderly patients, the infections can cause delirium.

They can also lead to sepsis, leading to about 10,000 deaths each year.