Poultry Workers May Spread Antibiotic-Resistant E. coli

Researchers say poultry workers may be spreading antibiotic-resistant bacteria to those who do not work in the sector.

While drug-resistant bacteria such as E. coli are common in the industrial broiler chicken environment, a new study is the first in the U.S. to show exposure occurring at a high level among industrial poultry workers.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that workers were 32 times more likely to carry E. coli bacteria resistant to the commonly used antibiotic gentamicin than those working in other areas.

The results, published in the December 2007 edition of Environmental Health Perspectives, suggest that food processing could play a greater role than previously thought in the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

"One of the major implications of this study is to underscore the importance of the non-hospital environment in the origin of drug resistant infections," said Ellen K. Silbergeld, Ph.D., senior author of the study.

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