Food 'may be spreading superbugs'
Updated on 27 May 2007
Harmless bacteria in everyday foods could be helping to create superbugs by sowing the seeds of drug resistance, say scientists.
Research has shown that many kinds of food carry bacteria-bearing genes that make microbes immune to antibiotics.
Although these bacteria are harmless, or even beneficial, they can hand the genes over to other bugs which are not.
Bacteria in close proximity to each other commonly swap genetic information - a process known as horizontal gene transfer.
In hospitals, horizontal gene transfer is already recognised as an important way of spreading antibiotic resistance.
US scientists led by Dr Hua Wang, from Ohio State University, tested a variety of ready-to-eat food samples, including seafood, meats, dairy products, delicatessen items and fresh produce.
The samples were bought from several US grocery chain stores. With the exception of processed cheese and yoghurt, all contained antibiotic-resistance gene-carrying bacteria.
"Despite the fact that this study only screened for a limited number of resistance markers, it illustrated the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant commensals (harmless bacteria) and antibiotic-resistance genes in retail foods," said Dr Wang, who spoke about the findings at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Toronto, Canada.
"The data indicate that food could be an important avenue for antibiotic-resistant bacterial evolution and dissemination."
The meeting heard that the problem was not confined to food.
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