Urinary Tract Infections Possibly Linked to Chickens

According to new research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), chickens may possibly be to blame for the majority of urinary tract infections (UTI) in the US.

According to the researchers, after analyzing genomes of the bacteria in women with UTIs, the strains of E. coli in the women matched strains of E. coli found in retail chicken meat.  Something to note, the bacteria did not come from any contamination during the preparation process, but from the chicken itself.

More than 8 million women are at risk of bladder infections because superbugs, which are resistant to antibiotics and that are growing in chickens, are being transmitted to humans in the form of E. coli.

80% of all antibiotics sold in the US are fed to livestock and chickens to protect them from disease caused by their cramped living quarters.

Source:
Fox News
ABC News

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SuperBug Detection Kit - A New Technology

Prof. Emeritus Nathan Citri, scientist at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, recently developed a SuperBug Detection Medical Kit that targets the problem of identifying various infectious "superbugs" fast enough to save lives and stop an outbreak.

Prof. Citri's new technology kit has all the material necessary to test for the presence of superbugs in a urine or blood sample, and amazingly provides crucial guidelines on how to treat the infection almost immediately, when currently, patients can wait as long as five days to get an evidence-based treatment, time during which the infection could spread like wildfire.

BioConnections, a UK-based company has already applied for the CE Mark, the European regulatory version of the FDA's stamp of approval, to market Citri's SuperBug Detection Kit.  The kits could possibly be ready in a few months, and then it's only a matter of time before they become available in the US.

The kits are designed to produce a chemical reaction in the presence of beta-lactamases, an enzyme found in all multi-drug resistant bacteria, providing information on the type of antibiotic that might be useful against the infection, whether it's in the lower respiratory tract, urinary tract, intestines or abdomen.  This technology will also be able to identify extremely drug-resistant infections so that affected patients may be properly isolated and treatments determined within minutes.

Ken Denton, the CEO of BioConnections said, "We are convinced that Prof. Citri's invention will improve patient care, saving lives, shortening hospital stays and significantly reducing healthcare costs.  The first kits are in the last stages of development, and we hope it will reach the market within months."

Source:  www.yissum.co.il/media-center/news/23220

Shared with: the healthy home economist