Urinary Tract Infections Becoming Harder to Treat

Researchers writing in the Journal of Medical Microbiology will help health experts to assess how using antibiotics in food-producing animals can affect the treatment of common human infections. Scientists examined Escherichia coli bacteria responsible for causing human urinary tract infections (UTIs) and bacteria in fecal samples from humans and food-producing animals. They found an identical gene for antibiotic resistance was present in all the samples in similar proportions and locations, suggesting that the gene is likely to be transferred between bacteria residing in different hosts. Surveys in recent years have shown that antibiotic resistance in this bacterium is increasing, making infections increasingly difficult to treat. The ability of antibiotic resistance genes to transfer between human and animals could make the problem harder to control. "These resistance genes may possibly spread to the human gut via the food chain, through direct contact with animals or by exposure to contaminated water sources.

Steve - we have seen this in our clients well. We find that the patented cranberry extract in pill or syrup form usually does the trick without having to resort to antibiotics. If not enough, GSE (grapefruit seed extract), in addition the cranberry extract, has proven successful in most cases.