Bay Area researchers have discovered a link between antibiotic-resistant urinary tract infections in women and the use of antibiotics in cattle.

When Anne Kapuscinski developed a urinary tract infection, she started taking antibiotics.

"At the end of three days, my symptoms had not gone away -- in fact, they were getting worse," she said.

UC Berkeley Professor of Infectious Diseases, Dr. Lee Riley, says Kapuscinski is not alone.

In a study of Cal students, many female patients had the same problem.

After further study, Riley discovered the women had all eaten what he calls contaminated food, meat from animals given antibiotics that now contains bacteria resistant to certain drugs.

Riley told NBC11, "We're saying the sudden increase of drug-resistant UTIs on campus may have been due to the introduction of contaminated food that came onto campus that a lot of people ate."

Riley suspects that if a cow can develop a resistance to antibiotics it can pass on that same resistance to people who eat beef from that cow.

Riley said, "This practice of using antibiotics as growth promoters in animals may also contribute to drug-resistant UTIs."

In response, the National Cattleman's Beef Association says there are many sources of e-Coli, including water and other foods, so it is not fair to connect the urinary tract infections directly to the consumption of beef.

Also, an association spokeswoman says the industry only uses antibiotics to treat sick animals and not promote growth in cattle.