Nearly 1 in 5 urinary tract infections linked to contaminated meat

In case anyone's wondering, this is for USA; study done in California.

Key findings:
18% of UTIs in the study population were linked to E. coli strains of animal origin, which are known as foodborne UTIs.
The highest-risk strains were most often found in chicken and turkey.
People living in low-income areas had a 60% higher risk of foodborne UTIs compared to those in wealthier neighborhoods.
Women and older men were especially vulnerable.

Don't fuck hamburger!
- How about with a condom?
- With buns like that, the burger was askin’ for it.
- Or at least cook it to a temperature of 165 f first (then probably let it cool)
- Or chicken breasts. That's how you end up a greentext.
- What about cheeseburger? 😘
- Me, holding an entire ham between two buns:
- now you tell me
Women always get more UTIs because of the shorter urethras.

Bet the Republicans are going to change the law to increase the risk of this. They love spreading diseases.

I wish we could have a community for science and not political bashing. Like, I get it, but it would be nice if you actually contributed to the conversation.
- Where's your constructive contribution to the conversation? Be the change you want to see.
  Anyway, this is a matter of US policy and thus it makes sense to discuss the issues of US policy. Republicans making laws that increase the likelihood of diseases is a fact.
- I understand your point. And you are correct. But, there some wiggle room here because this is a regional problem only, in only a few countries, and that is caused by lax laws for food handling and preparation.
- That the Republicans are actively dismantling the infrastructure and extorting the funding for science and driving a brain drain to other nations means I agree with the other person.

Very few serious replies here, so I’ll try one …

I wonder if wearing gloves during food prep is the answer.

Stay with me here

most infections are caused by by basic hygiene, scratching your hoo haw with hands that have touched other things, including other parts of your body.
you touch raw meat as part of food prep (and women do most of the cooking)
it’s well known and adopted that you need to wash your hands after touching raw meat, which ought to help prevent
fingernails. Slime from raw meat also gets under your fingernails and most of us do not wash that well.

We have a series of observations leading to germs under fingernails after handling uncooked food as a possible disease vector. If it is a significant vector, how do you prevent it? I doubt people will start washing hands to that level of detail, but you already have a lot of cooks wearing latex gloves during food prep which should prevent it in the first place

As an alternative, consider not eating meat.
Just go vegetarian.
- Unironically, that might be the way. I used to have UTIs like every few months and now that I think about it, I haven't had one since going vegan in January.
Sadly it won't help much if at all (that is why they are not required in professional kitchens per se)- people still touch things they should not and then touch these things ungloved.
There sadly are various studies proving this.
- Bummer
None of that matters if you cook to biological extinction (e.g. 60C for 1 minute, there are food safety curves and that was a guess, look it up). There are viruses and spores that can cope, but if that were a general issue we'd all be dead...
- Prep occurs before cooking while the meat is raw.
  Unless you're suggesting cooking our fingers after food prep I think I'll let someone else try that first.

For a very brief period in 2020, men properly washed their hands. By 2025, barely 5% do, as before 2020.

Don’t put dirty objects up your hoohah
Men: Wash your gentlemen bits (and your butthole/crack) every day; two or three times if needed

As an Italian I wonder: how do you manage that, not to say do it comfortably, without a bidet?
- Either via the shower, or using sanitary wipes (e.g. Dude Wipes) when a shower is not available. In a pinch, a wet paper towel will help too.
Seriously. Sex is already dirty, help your partner by maintaining your hygiene. But seriously wash any raw meat you buy or butcher, and be careful of who cooks your food.
Edit: People assuming I don't keep a clean kitchen and that I wash raw meat under a running faucet.
- Washing meat is really just a good way to spread contamination around your kitchen, and mess up the meat. Wash your hands and prep surfaces, keep a clean kitchen, and cook the meat properly.
- I only learned that "Washing" meat was a thing from people saying "Washing your meat is actually bad". I never knew anyone to do this, and it sounds absurd to me.
- People assuming I don't keep a clean kitchen and that I wash raw meat under a running faucet.
  Most washing is done under a running faucet, no? Or otherwise running water.
- Ya, dirty sex sounds fun but it smells funny and can lead to infection. It's not only smellz

/ball-washing intensifies/

@usernamesAreTricky
Never a meat inspector around when you need one.