Sunday, August 1, 2010

Study Shows E. Coli in Urinary Tract Infections Comes From Meat

We already knew that the majority of urinary tract infections (UTI's) come from E. coli. A common scenario is this: you have E. coli in your digestive tract, it comes out via your anus, you have sex (or you wipe from back to front), and the E. coli gets into your urethra, where it causes problems. Now a researcher has shown that the strains of E. coli which are causing the infections are precisely those that are found in the local meat supply (and more specifically tied to chicken). Reaction to the study has been pretty uniform. As the lead researcher of the team, Amee Manges, puts it, we should "follow hygienic practices in the kitchen, prevent cross-contamination between raw meat and other foods, and cook meat thoroughly." Good advice, but I have a better idea. How about we stop raising animals in factory farms, where they end up being coated in feces, eating feces, eating the bodies of other animals, and being slaughtered in conditions which are impossible to keep free of pathogens?

Study re E. Coli in meat and UTI's

Factory Farmed Chickens

PS: You may have noticed that we have a new look for the blog. I was trying to figure out how to get the Sheri Winston video, in my last post, to fit properly, and along the way I decided to try a new format. It matches our website more closely, and gives the blog entries a bit more room to stretch out. I also added the "share this" feature, which I personally love and use a lot. I wasn't able to fix the video problem, but I hope you like the new format. Now share some blog posts!

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