Food poisoning can be passed on through sex

Researchers in the United States (U.S.) have found that Campylobacter infection, the most common foodborne illness in the Western world, can also be spread through sexual contact. To this end, the researchers from the University of Oklahoma had called on doctors to talk to their patients about risks associated with sexual contact amid a bout of food poisoning. Some Campylobacter species can infect humans, sometimes causing campylobacteriosis, a diarrhoeal disease in humans. While campylobacter infection was rarely serious, it can cause vomiting and diarrhoea, and can pose an additional risk for people with underlying health conditions. In the study, theteam set out tounderstandwhetherCampylobacterinfectioncanbespread through sexual contact. Dr. Katrin Kuhn, who led the study, said: “This research is important for public health messaging and for physicians as they talk to their patients about risks associated with sexual contact. “Although Campylobacter infection is usually not a serious disease, it causes diarrhoea, which can result in people missing work, losing productivity or perhaps losing their job.”