Wart Cancer Viruses in Food
Michael Greger M.D. FACLM October 7th, 2010 Volume 4
4.88 (97.5%) 16 votes
The wart-causing viruses in animals may present more than just a cosmetic issue for consumers.
Last year, I talked about butcher's warts, a condition that afflicts those who handle fresh meat for a living because of the viruses in meat. But it's more than just a cosmetic issue.
Earlier this year, a landmark study of cancer mortality in poultry workers was released. We've known that people who handle a lot of fresh chicken get a lot of warts on their hands, but the concern is that some of the wart viruses are oncogenic, or cancer-causing. Workers in poultry slaughtering and processing are exposed to these cancer-causing viruses—some of which are the most potent cancer-causing agents known in animals. But what does that mean for people?
Well, compared to the general population, poultry workers appear to have an excess of cancers of the mouth; nasal cavities; throat; cancer of the tongue; the tonsils; the inner ear; then down the esophagus; rectal/anal cancer; and liver, bone marrow, and blood cancers as well.
The reason it's so important to study this group is because it's possible that the cancer-causing viruses present in poultry and poultry products could be transmitted to anyone handing raw poultry. Proper cooking will kill any and all chicken wart and cancer viruses—but the problem is that meat may come into our homes fresh or frozen, and contaminate our hands or kitchen surfaces before it gets into the pot.
Same concern with other meat. There was a fascinating case report about pork intake and human papillomavirus—HPV—which can cause cancerous anal and genital warts. Oh, the poor guy; 19 years old. Giant warty tumor, nearly an inch in diameter, protruding from the tip of his penis. They cut it off, but it grew right back, and so they asked for a dietary history. He was eating more than a pound of pork a day. They told him to stop the pork, and the tumor completely regressed on its own—totally disappeared.
The doctors were so blown away, they even went as far as to suggest that the low cervical cancer rates in Israel could be because they eat so little pork.
Johnson ES, Zhou Y, Lillian Yau C, Prabhakar D, Ndetan H, Singh K, Preacely N. Mortality from malignant diseases-update of the Baltimore union poultry cohort. Cancer Causes Control. 2010 Feb;21(2):215-21.
Schneider A, Morabia A, Papendick U, Kirchmayr R. Pork intake and human papillomavirus-related disease. Nutr Cancer. 1990;13(4):209-11. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Ulm, West Germany.
Image thanks to Rachel Clarke via flickr
butcher's warts
esophagus health
throat health
wart viruses
Republishing "Wart Cancer Viruses in Food"
Other videos on cancer viruses and meat include:
Chicken Dioxins, Viruses, or Antibiotics?
Carcinogenic Retrovirus Found in Eggs
Poultry Exposure Tied to Liver & Pancreatic Cancer
Poultry Exposure & Neurological Disease
And check out my other videos on poultry.
For more context, see my associated blog post: Poultry & Penis Cancer.
Meat & Multiple Myeloma
Hepatitis E Virus in Pork