E. coli mainly lives harmlessly in the guts of humans and animals, but a handful of nasty strains can cause food poisoning and bloodstream infections. One of the best ways to cut down on antibiotic-resistant E. coli infections would be making sure that everyone washes their hands after using the toilet, a UK study suggests. Outbreaks of E.
coli – a potentially fatal illness – are commonly blamed on undercooked meat or raw vegetables, but when researchers did a genetic analysis of thousands of samples, they found that most E. coli infections in the UK were caused by a strain often found in the human gut and in sewage, but not seen much in the food supply. That suggests the infection is primarily being spread as a result of human fecal particles transmitted from person to person, the study team writes in Lancet Infectious Diseases. David M. Livermore, a medical microbiologist at the…
