Food Poisoning News and Research

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Food poisoning is a term given to infections with bacteria, parasites, viruses, or toxins from germs that affects humans via contaminated food or water.

Research shows how bad E. coli gain a foothold over good bacteria in IBD

What if you had to plan your outings based on how your stomach felt that day or where the nearest restroom is located? For many people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), their guts have an inordinate effect on their daily quality of life.

5 Nov 2019

Otago researchers join vaccine research project to tackle Salmonella bloodstream infections in Africa

A team of University of Otago researchers is part of a major new international vaccine research project to help tackle devastating Salmonella bloodstream infections which are killing thousands of people in sub-Saharan Africa each year.

1 Nov 2019

E. coli superbug spreading by poor toilet hygiene, not through food

A new study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases on October 22, 2019, says that one common superbug that causes more than 5,000 cases of food poisoning in England every year is spread not through contaminated food but through contaminated toilet surfaces.

23 Oct 2019

Study: Whole genome sequencing can improve surveillance, control of gastroenteritis

A new study into one of the UK's leading causes of gastroenteritis has shown how whole genome sequencing can improve its surveillance and control of the disease.

25 Sep 2019

African bacterium resists almost all drugs

It looks like it’s time to pay the piper. The first extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strain of Salmonella typhimurium, called ST313 sublineage II.1, has cropped up in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This fails to respond to any of the antibiotics that are commonly used in the DRC, except for ciprofloxacin. And to make things worse, one sample has been isolated that shows incomplete response even to this last drug.

22 Sep 2019

Salmonella responsible for bloodstream infections in sub-Saharan Africa exhibits extensive drug resistance

The first extensively drug-resistant strains of Salmonella Typhimurium, a pathogen which is responsible for millions of bloodstream infections per year in sub-Saharan Africa, have been identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

19 Sep 2019

It’s safe to feed raw food to pets, finds new study

A large multinational study shows that pet owners don’t think feeding raw food increases the risk of infection to household members. Raw food includes all uncooked meat and other parts of a dead animal. In fact, an infection in humans could be traced to raw pet food in just 0.24% of all surveyed households.

9 Sep 2019

Simple smartphone-based method for detecting extremely low levels of norovirus

A little bit of norovirus - the highly infectious microbe that causes about 20 million cases of food poisoning in the United States each year - goes a long way. Just 10 particles of the virus can cause illness in humans.

27 Aug 2019

Researchers discover antibiotic that could prevent diarrhea caused by C. difficile

In Australia, more than 10,000 patients a year acquire a serious bacterial infection called Clostridioides difficile, often while in hospital, resulting in the death of up to 300 people per year.

13 Aug 2019

Genetically tweaking gut bacteria reduces risk of colorectal cancer in mice finds study

Researchers have found that editing of the genes of the bacteria present in the guts of mice could help reduce the inflammation and associated risk of colorectal cancers.

31 Jul 2019

Rutgers expert discusses how to stay safe as 'flesh-eating bacteria' move into new waters

Infections caused by the bacterium Vibrio vulnificus – known as "flesh eating" bacteria – are becoming more common in northern waters, whose surface temperatures are rising due to climate change.

30 Jul 2019

Whole-genome sequencing could transform salmonella detection

Salmonella is among the most common organisms responsible for symptomatic and serious food poisoning. Methods to detect this have evolved from crude microscopic identification to serotype detection.

29 Jul 2019

Plant foods may transmit antibiotic-resistant superbugs to humans

Researchers have revealed that plant foods may be transmitting antibiotic resistance to the gut microbiome.

25 Jun 2019

Flying insects in hospitals harbor pathogenic bacteria

More than 50% of bacteria recovered from flying insects in a group of English hospitals were resistant to one or more antibiotics, posing a potential infection risk to patients, according to a new study.

20 Jun 2019

Norovirus structures could help develop therapeutics to fight food-borne illness

Noroviruses are a leading cause of food-borne illness outbreaks, accounting for 58% of all outbreaks and cause 685 million cases worldwide each year. There is no effective therapeutic against them. Having knowledge of the intricate structure of the outer layer of noroviruses, the capsid, which allows the virus to attach to its human host, could help in vaccine development.

13 Jun 2019

Climate change adversely affects human health, says new report

Climate change may progressively affect human health for the worse, requiring prompt and resolute action to stabilize it, reports a consortium of 27 leading scientific academies in Europe.

4 Jun 2019

'Don’t wash your raw chicken', warns CDC

The CDC have issued another warning against washing raw chicken before cooking. Washing chicken can spread dangerous bacteria onto surfaces and other food items.

3 May 2019

How proteins in outer membrane of bacteria stick to and populate in human body

The discovery, published today in Nature Communications by researchers from La Trobe University and the University of Queensland, provides details on how proteins in the outer membrane of bacteria - the bacteria's 'superglue' - are able to stick to and populate parts of the human body.

30 Apr 2019

Researchers study how E. coli clones have become major cause of drug-resistant infections

A 'superbug' clone of E. coli has evolved to prevent itself from becoming so dominant that it could potentially wipe out the bacteria from existence, scientists led by the University of Birmingham have discovered.

23 Apr 2019

Could garlic oil represent an alternative to antibiotics in the food industry?

Using gas chromatography, scientists have been able to determine the burden of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in common food items and have discovered that garlic oil may be a viable alternative to chemical antibiotics.

5 Apr 2019