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Scientists found the majority of drug resistant-strains of the bug are spread between humans and not through eating raw chicken, beef or pork. The ‘likeliest route’ of catching the potentially-fatal bug is through faecal particles entering your mouth – mainly through poor toilet hygiene.
Study author Professor David Livermore, from the University of East Anglia, said: ‘The great majority of strains of ESBL-E.coli causing human infections aren’t coming from eating chicken, or anything else in the food chain.’Rather – and unpalatably – the likeliest route of transmission for ESBL-E.coli is directly from human to human, with faecal particles from one person reaching the mouth of another.
‘E.coli is the most common cause of blood poisoning, with more than 40,000 cases each year in England alone, statistics show.Around 10 per cent of these cases are caused by highly resistant strains which produce an enzyme known as Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase (ESBL).
Professor Livermore and colleagues sequenced the genomes of ESBL-producing E.coli for the study, published in journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases. Samples were extracted from human bloodstream infections, human faeces and human sewerage, as well as beef, pork and chicken.
They found that ESBL-E.coli strains extracted from the human samples were similar to one another but differed to the strains present in animals. This meant there was ‘little crossover’ of ESBL-E.coli from animals to humans, Professor Livermore and team said. They added it is still important to follow good hygiene practices while cooking food because other infections can still be picked up through eating.
But Professor Livermore said: ‘Here – in the case of ESBL-E.coli – it’s much more important to wash your hands after going to the toilet. ‘Professor Neil Woodford, of Public Health England, said: ‘In order to tackle antibiotic resistance, we not only need to drive down inappropriate prescribing, but reduce infections in the first place.
‘In order to limit serious, antibiotic resistant E.coli bloodstream infections, we must focus on thorough hand washing and good infection control, as well as the effective management of urinary tract infections. ‘Prudent use of antibiotics is essential in both animals and humans.
Antibiotics are a finite resource. We need them to continue to work when we get sick. ‘Antibiotic resistant strains of E. coli are more likely to be spread by not washing your hands after going to the toilet than by eating undercooked meat, scientists say.