UTI and raw meat: Raw meat can be a comfortable home for microbes, and new research suggests it’s also a meaningful, overlooked source of urinary tract infections (UTIs).
An analysis led by George Washington University matched the genomes of more than 5,700 E. coli samples collected from UTI patients and from retail meat between 2017 and 2021. Up to 20% of UTI-causing E. coli strains matched known foodborne, animal-origin lineages, the team reports in mBio.
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“UTIs have long been seen as a personal health issue, but our findings suggest they’re also a food safety problem,” said GW microbiologist Lance Price. The study found the association between meat and UTIs was strongest in certain locations: people living in low-income neighbourhoods faced a 60% higher risk of foodborne UTIs than those in wealthier areas. “Your risk of infection should not depend on your ZIP code,” Price added.
Bioinformatician Maliha Aziz and colleagues found contamination patterns varied by product, with poultry, especially turkey, showing the highest rates, pointing to these items as potentially greater sources of infection. The researchers emphasise that cross-contamination during handling and cooking is a likely driver, underscoring basic kitchen hygiene and proper cooking temperatures as frontline prevention.
While the work was conducted in California, the authors suspect the problem is national and say more research is needed to map other exposure routes. “This opens up new avenues for prevention, especially for vulnerable communities that bear a disproportionate burden,” Price said, arguing for greater investment in research on the social factors shaping infection risk.
