Half of the U.S. Meat Infected with Staph Bacteria

Nearly half of the U.S. meat and poultry sold in the supermarket and grocery stores is contaminated with potentially hazardous bacteria (staph bacteria), according to the recent study published in the journal "Clinical Infectious Diseases." Researchers collected 136 packages of turkey, chicken, pork, and ground beef bought from around 26 grocery stores in five cities: Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; Chicago; Flagstaff, Arizona and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was found that 47% of the 136 samples contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus, the bacteria that causes staph infections from the mild to stern while 52% were resistant to at least three classes of antibiotics that comprise penicillin and tetracycline.

Retail meat and poultry is being checked regularly by the US government for 4 types of drug-resistant bacteria, however Staphylococcus aureus is not among them. It is believed by the researchers that the cause of the contamination is not inappropriate handling but the animals as well as they told it’s possibly the outcome of the extensive use of antibiotics in livestock. The best ways to evade problems are hand washing, carefully cooking meat and keeping raw meat away from other foods.

In up to 25 percent of healthy people, usually Staph germs are found on the skin and in the noses and the bacteria can reach in loads of settings like in the packing plant or kitchen, and it can origin food poisoning. Every year staph accounts for about 240,000 cases as per the estimate made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the US, annually over 2 million people are infected with these bacteria and several die. People with weakened immune systems whether young and older are most at risk.

Super Bacteria Found In Half Of Supermarket Meat Samples video from youtube: