Health Law

Possible Foodborne Illness Link to Urinary Tract Infections?

By Marler Clark LLP

E. coli bacteria in food -- commonly linked to food poisoning and the stomach pain and diarrhea that result -- might also be the cause of some urinary tract infections. Researchers have found the same strains of the bacteria in chicken from stores and restaurants and in women with the infections. There's no evidence that the germs were transmitted directly to the women through the food they ate, although that's possible.

Still, the findings are the first to suggest a possible link between the food supply and urinary tract infections, said Amee R. Manges, an assistant professor at McGill University in Montreal and lead author of a report on the discovery. It is published in the January issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

SOURCES: Amee R. Manges, M.P.H., Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal; Pascal James Imperato, M.D., M.P.H.&T.M., dean and professor, School of Public Health, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, N.Y.; Marion Nestle, Ph.D., M.P.H., professor, Department of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health, New York University, New York City; January 2010, Emerging Infectious Diseases

Full post as published by e.Coli Blog on December 16, 2009 (boomark / email).