Kitchen cutting boards could be teeming with drug-resistant germs.
Researchers tested 154 cutting boards from the University Hospital in Basel and 44 cutting boards from homes after they made contact with "pork, beef/veal, lamb, game or fish," HealthDay reported.
The team found that 6.5 percent of the hospital cutting boards and 3.5 percent of the household cutting boards tested positive for "multidrug-resistant E. coli bacteria," Healthday reported.
The researchers also examined 20 gloves used by cooks in the hospital; half of these gloves tested positive for extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL-producing E. coli), the Huffington Post reported. None of the cutting boards used to handle non-poultry meats tested positive for the bacteria.
"The spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria has been associated with the hospital setting, but these findings suggest that transmission of drug-resistant E. coli occurs both in the hospital and households," study author Dr. Andreas Widmer said in a journal news release, HealthDay reported.
"Our findings emphasize the importance of hand hygiene, not only after handling raw poultry, but also after contact with cutting boards used in poultry preparation," he said.
Despite the results, foods other than poultry can put one at risk of suffering food poisoning. Spinach and other leafy greens are the largest source of food poisoning, the Huffington Post reported.
"Our study provides evidence that kitchen equipment and hands can easily become contaminated with ESBL-producing E. coli after processing of raw poultry, revealing an important potential source for ongoing transmission in both hospital kitchens and private household settings," the researchers wrote in the study. The Huffington Post reported. "These findings emphasize hand hygiene not only after handling raw poultry but also after contact with cutting boards used for poultry preparation."
The researchers suggest frequently washing cutting boards, especially when handling high-risk foods such as poultry and green leafy vegetables.
The study was published in the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
