Health
High levels of resistant bacteria found in uncooked meats and raw dog food: ‘Red flag’
High levels of E. coli were found in uncooked meats and raw dog food sold in grocery stores in the U.K., according to research presented last week at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) Global Congress in Barcelona.
Researchers from the University of Bristol examined 58 samples of raw beef, chicken, pork and lamb sold at grocery stores in the U.K., along with 15 samples of raw dog food sold at “specialty pet stores,” according to a press release.
Eighty-one percent of the meat samples and 87% of the dog food samples were found to contain E. coli (Escherichia coli) that was resistant to antibiotics.
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The raw chicken had the highest levels of the resistant intestinal bacteria.
“E. coli is an intestinal bacteria that may propagate in cows and chickens used for meat, especially when they are raised in squalor or close together,” Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, told Fox News Digital.
High levels of E. coli were found in uncooked meats and raw dog food sold in grocery stores, according to research presented last week at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) Global Congress in Barcelona. (iStock)
“Since poultry and meat cows are often fed antibiotics to help them grow and to ward off infections, this helps to breed resistant strains, which emerge amid antibiotic overuse.”
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Siegel was not involved in the study.
“This study confirms that uncooked meat carries multiple resistant E. coli, commonly including resistance to critically important antibiotics important for human health,” the study authors said in a press release from ESCMID.
“E. coli is an intestinal bacteria that may propagate in cows and chickens used for meat, especially when they are raised in squalor or close together.” (iStock)
If ingested, the bacteria could colonize the intestines and cause resistant infections, according to study author Matthew B. Avison, a professor at the School of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol.
“They can sit in your gut for years without causing sickness, and in some cases the bacteria will cause different types of disease later on, including urinary tract infections and bloodstream infections that can kill,” Avison told Fox News Digital.
“Infections with resistant bacteria are more difficult to treat and so are more likely to get worse.”
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Uncooked meat sold to be eaten by people after cooking is “commonly contaminated” with antibiotic-resistant E. coli, Avison noted.
The study results weren’t surprising, he said, as there have been “numerous reports” of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in uncooked meat and some studies showing this in raw dog food.
“In some cases, the bacteria will cause different types of disease later on, including urinary tract infections and bloodstream infections.”
“People often believe that because raw dog food is sold frozen, the freezing kills the bacteria, but we have shown that it does not,” Avison told Fox News Digital.
“There were just as many samples of chicken-based raw dog food contaminated with resistant E. coli than there were samples of raw chicken meat. If you feed your dog raw meat, therefore, you are likely feeding it antibiotic resistant E. coli.”
These findings explain why researchers previously found a strong link between feeding dogs raw meat and the dogs excreting resistant E. coli in their feces, Avison noted.
“People often believe that because raw dog food is sold frozen, that freezing kills the bacteria on it, but we have shown that it does not,” a researcher told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
Most people are not aware of the risk of these antibiotic-resistant pathogens, the researchers stated in the release.
They emphasized the importance of cooking meat thoroughly before eating, and using “appropriate hygiene practices” while preparing it.
“Cooking the meat properly will kill those bacteria,” Avison advised.
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“Treat all raw meat as if it were contaminated with antibiotic-resistant bacteria and assume dogs fed raw meat will be excreting resistant bacteria,” he went on.
“Use appropriate hand-washing and general hygiene practices to minimize the risk that you and other people will accidentally ingest these bacteria.”
“If you feed your dog raw meat, you are likely feeding it antibiotic resistant E. coli.”
Dog owners who feed raw meat to their pets should dispose of the animals’ waste hygienically, Avison said.
“Don’t let your dog lick your face or share your bed, and wash your hands after petting it,” he recommended. “These are all common sense practices anyway, but even more important if you raw-feed your dog.”
Researchers emphasized the importance of cooking meat thoroughly before eating, and using “appropriate hygiene practices” while preparing it. (iStock)
“And, of course, treat raw dog food as if it were any raw meat, in terms of hygiene and cleaning practices.”
The study raises a “red flag,” Siegel said, underscoring the importance of making sure that poultry and meat is fully cooked prior to human consumption, and that dog food is also cooked.
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Andre Delattre, chief operating officer of Public Interest Research Groups (PIRG) in Washington, D.C., said the study “underscores the importance of ending the practice of routine use of antibiotics in animal agriculture.”
“Use appropriate hand-washing and general hygiene practices to minimize the risk that you and other people will accidentally ingest these bacteria,” researchers said. (iStock)
“An inevitable byproduct of antibiotic overuse is resistance to these drugs,” he told Fox News Digital.
“Studies have also shown that meat raised without antibiotics is less likely to be contaminated with resistant bacteria.”
The University of Bristol study was published on a pre-print server and has not yet been peer-reviewed.
Fox News Digital reached out to the U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for comment.
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health.
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Study finds link between obesity and vascular dementia
Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel joins ‘America’s Newsroom’ to discuss an increase in colon cancer in people under 50 despite an overall lowering cancer deaths and a new study linking obesity to vascular dementia.
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A new blood test could determine a woman’s dementia risk as early as 25 years before symptoms emerge.
That’s according to new research from the University of California San Diego, which found that a specific biomarker protein associated with early pathological processes of Alzheimer’s disease was “strongly linked” to future dementia risk.
The researchers analyzed blood samples from 2,766 participants in the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study in the late 1990s, according to the study’s press release.
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The women ranged from 65 to 79 years of age and showed no signs of cognitive decline at the start of the study.
After tracking the participants for up to 25 years, the researchers concluded that the biomarker phosphorylated tau 217 (p-tau217) was “strongly associated” with future mild cognitive impairment and dementia.
A new blood test could determine a woman’s dementia risk as early as 25 years before symptoms emerge. (iStock)
Women who had higher levels of p-tau217 at the beginning of the study were “much more likely” to develop the disease. The findings were published today in JAMA Network Open.
“The key takeaway is that our study suggests it may be possible to detect risk of dementia two decades in advance using a simple blood test in older women,” first author Aladdin H. Shadyab, a UC San Diego associate professor of public health and medicine, told Fox News Digital.
“These biomarkers may help us identify who is at greatest risk and develop strategies to delay or prevent dementia.”
“Our findings show that the blood biomarker p-tau217 could help identify individuals at higher risk for dementia long before symptoms begin,” he added.
This long lead time could open the door to earlier prevention strategies and more targeted monitoring, rather than waiting until memory problems are already affecting daily life, according to Shadyab.
A specific biomarker protein associated with early pathological processes of Alzheimer’s disease was “strongly linked” to future dementia risk. (iStock)
“As the research advances, these biomarkers may help us identify who is at greatest risk and develop strategies to delay or prevent dementia,” he said.
This risk relationship wasn’t the same across the board, however. Women over 70 with higher p-tau217 levels had “poorer cognitive outcomes” compared to those under 70, as did those with the APOE ε4 gene, which is a known risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease.
The study also found that p-tau217 was a stronger predictor of dementia in women who were randomly assigned to receive estrogen and progestin hormone therapy compared to those who received a placebo.
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“Blood-based biomarkers like p-tau217 are especially promising because they are far less invasive and potentially more accessible than brain imaging or spinal fluid tests,” said senior author Linda K. McEvoy, senior investigator at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute and professor emeritus at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health, in the release.
“Blood-based biomarkers like p-tau217 are especially promising because they are far less invasive and potentially more accessible than brain imaging or spinal fluid tests,” a researcher said. (iStock)
“This is important for accelerating research into the factors that affect the risk of dementia and for evaluating strategies that may reduce risk.”
Blood tests for Alzheimer’s disease are still being studied and are not recommended for routine screening in people without symptoms, Shadyab noted.
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More research is needed before this approach can be considered for clinical use prior to cognitive symptoms.
Future studies should investigate how other factors — like genetics, hormone therapy and age-related medical conditions — might interact with plasma p-tau217, the researchers added.
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“The study examined only older women, so the findings may not necessarily apply to men or younger populations,” Shadyab noted. “We also examined overall dementia outcomes rather than specific subtypes such as Alzheimer’s disease.”
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For women over 60, muscle strength plays a critical role in longevity, a new study confirms.
Researchers at the University at Buffalo, New York, followed more than 5,000 women between the ages of 63 and 99, finding that those with greater muscle strength had a significantly lower risk of death over an eight-year period.
The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.
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Muscle function was measured using grip strength and how quickly participants could complete five unassisted sit-to-stand chair raises.
These are two tests commonly used in clinical settings to evaluate muscle function in older adults, the researchers noted.
A recent study shows that stronger muscle strength in women over 60 is linked to a lower risk of death over eight years. (iStock)
“In a community cohort of ambulatory older women, muscular strength was associated with significantly lower mortality rates, even when we accounted for usual physical activity and sedentary time measured using a wearable monitor, gait speed and blood C-reactive protein levels,” study lead author Michael LaMonte, research professor of epidemiology and environmental health at the University at Buffalo, told Fox News Digital.
“Movement is the key — just move more and sit less.”
Many earlier studies did not include those objective measurements, making it difficult to determine whether muscle strength itself was linked to longevity, according to LaMonte. “Our study was able to better isolate the association between strength and death in later life,” he added.
Even for women who don’t get the recommended amount of aerobic physical activity, which is at least 150 minutes per week, muscle strength remained important for longevity, the researchers found.
Women with greater muscle strength were more likely to live longer, even if they did not meet the recommended amount of aerobic exercise. (iStock)
“The findings of lower mortality in those who had higher strength but were not meeting current national guidelines on aerobic activity were somewhat intriguing,” LaMonte said.
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Federal guidelines recommend strengthening activities one to two days per week, targeting major muscle groups.
Resistance training does not have to require a gym membership, LaMonte noted. These exercises can be performed using free weights, resistance bands, bodyweight movements or even household items, such as soup cans.
Experts recommend working major muscle groups one or two days a week using weights, bands or bodyweight exercises. (iStock)
“Movement is the key — just move more and sit less,” he said. “When we can no longer get out of the chair and move around, we are in trouble.”
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LaMonte acknowledged several limitations of the study. The researchers assessed muscle strength in older age but did not explore how earlier levels in adulthood might influence long-term health outcomes.
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“We were not able to understand how strength and mortality relate in younger ages,” he said, noting that future research should explore whether building strength earlier could have an even greater impact on longevity.
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