- Health Bacterial infections are the second leading cause of death in the world
A study by the University of Santiago de Compostela has found the presence of two bacteria that can cause serious infections in humans in 40% of the meat samples analyzed. These are strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Klebsiella pneumoniae.
As explained by Azucena Mora, scientific director of the Center for Biomedicine and Veterinary Medicine at the University of Santiago de Compostela and one of those responsible for the study, these bacteria can cause sepsis or urinary tract infections, but the main danger lies in the low resistance of meats to antibiotics.
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Most of the products had E. coli levels within safe limits. The problem is resistance to antibiotics and not the meat itself, "he said in 'El Correo'.
In addition, Mora explained that what increases the danger of these pathogens is that "they have developed enzymes that confer resistance to most antibiotics, such as penicillins, cephalosporins and monobactamic aztreonam."
The study, which has just been presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, began in 2020 and for it random samples of one hundred retail meat products were taken in supermarkets in Oviedo. But as Azucena Mora explains to the Herald, the sampling was carried out in "supermarket chains present throughout the national territory."
The study analyzed chicken, turkey, beef and pork and found that there was more contamination in the first two. The authors of the study attribute this greater concentration to the "differences in production and slaughter", according to 'El Heraldo'
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