KAW press release about a new report from scientists at the University of California at Berkeley concludes that an outbreak of antibiotic-resistant urinary tract infections (UTIs) was probably caused by foodborne bacteria, and that resistance in such bacteria likely arises from use of antibiotics in agricultural animals.

The study, published in the Jan. 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, identified E.coli bacteria from food animal sources that are highly similar to the multi-drug resistant bacteria associated with an outbreak of UTIs in women in California. The identification of the bacteria in food animal isolates strengthens the case that some antibiotic-resistant UTIs originate from food animals.