FOOD poisoning can be
passed through sex, doctors have discovered.
Usually it's assumed
the nasty illness - causing sickness and diarrhoea - is a result of eating
something dodgy.
1
Food poisoning can be passed through
sex, doctors have said after studying an outbreak in men who have sex with menCredit: Getty - Contributor
But researchers in
Oklahoma have for the first time discovered a new mode of spread, making it a
possible STI.
The study looked at
campylobacter, one of the many common bugs that leads to food poisoning.
Campylobacter
infections usually happen when someone eats chicken that has not been cooked
thoroughly, or the juices that come from it.
It can also occur when
people drink water or milk that has been contaminated by infected animals.
Researchers looked at
whether sexual contact could be behind an outbreak of campylobacter infections
in men who have sex with other men in northern Europe.
It showed the illness
was 14 times higher in men who were sexually active with other men compared to
the control group.
The results are
relevant to people of any sexual orientation whose sex may involve “fecal-oral
contact”, said lead author Dr Katrin Kuhn.
This is when
infectious particles from faeces are ingested through the mouth.
Some STIs are passed
this way, including herpes and gonorrhoea.
Dr Kuhn said:
"This research is important for public health messaging and for physicians
as they talk to their patients about risks associated with sexual contact.”
Two other food
poisoning bacteria, salmonella and shigella, were used as comparisons in the
study.
Salmonella is spread
primarily through infected foods and has a high infectious dose, meaning people
have to consume a lot of it to become ill.
For comparison,
shigella can be transmitted through food or sexual contact with a low
infectious dose, making it easier to transmit.
Dr Kuhn, an infectious
disease scientist at the OU Hudson College of Public Health, said: "That's
an additional reason why we believe Campylobacter can be transmitted through
sexual contact like shigella is - because people can become infected when only
small amounts of the bacteria are present.”
How to avoid food poisoning
·
Wash your hands before
and after handling food, after touching the bin, using the toilet, blowing your
nose or touching animals, including pets
·
Wash worktops, knives
and utensils before and after preparing food
·
Wash dishcloths and
towels regularly and make sure they are dry before using them again
·
Use a separate
chopping board to prepare raw food, such as meat and fish
·
Keep raw meat away
from ready-to-eat foods, such as salad, fruit and bread
·
Always cover raw meat
and store it on the bottom shelf of the fridge
·
Make sure poultry,
pork, burgers, sausages and kebabs are cooked until steaming hot, with no pink
meat inside. Do not wash raw meat
·
Keep your fridge
temperature below 5C and don't overfill it
·
If you have cooked
food that you're not going to eat straight away, cool it as quickly as possible
and put it in the fridge or freezer
·
Do not eat food that's
past its use-by date, even if it looks and smells OK
Source: NHS
