Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

USDA approves E. coli vaccine

|
|
 
  
Published: March. 13, 2009 at 9:10 PM
Advertisement

WASHINGTON, March 13 (UPI) -- The U. S. Department of Agriculture has approved a new vaccine to reduce the prevalence of E. coli O157 in beef cattle.

The agency issued a conditional license to Epitopix, LLC, of Willmar, Minn., for the vaccine, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Friday.

USDA said E. coli O157:H7 often enters the food supply when muscle tissue becomes contaminated with E. coli from the intestinal tract of cattle during the slaughtering process.

Researchers at Kansas State University said the vaccine has been tested successfully at commercial feed yards.

"With this vaccine, we observed decreases in cattle shedding E. coli O157," Dan Thomson of K-State's College of Veterinary Medicine said in a release. "In our last field study we observed an 86 percent reduction in the number of animals shedding E. coli. Of the vaccinated cattle that were still shedding, we observed nearly a 98 percent reduction of E. coli O157 fecal concentration.

Topics: Tom Vilsack
Recommended Stories
© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
The making of the Oscars The Chicago Auto Show 2011: The year in space
Mercedes-Benz fashion week In New York Tu Bishvat Migron settlement The Tibetan Moniam Festival in China
Additional Science News Stories
1 of 30
Valentine's Day Ramallah, West Bank
View Caption
fark
I don't expect witty repartee kid, just give me a sign when the diaper is full so I can wait it...
Looking for that perfect, discreet affair this Valentine's Day? Lucky for you, dating sites catering...
You step out of a shower and find a man snoring in your closet. What do you do? 1. Scream? 2. Run...
Sean Penn blasts Britain for not handing Falklands back to Argentina. That'll teach them
NASA budget slashes Mars funding, leaving future exploration prospects up to a duck with a speech...
The Seedy, Scandalous History of Valentine's Day