E. coli Prevention Research Targets Pathogens in Cattle
E. coli prevention research shows evidence of progress toward keeping e coli outbreaks from happening by stopping the bacteria where it starts–inside cattle’s digestive systems, according to news reports.
Microbiologists at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center have been working with the USDA on a study that will soon be reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study shows that it can be possible to hinder the harmful E. coli O157:H7 bacterium from colonizing in cattle in the first place, therefore lessening the likelihood that it could contaminate water and food supplies and sicken humans.
“If we can find a way to prevent these bacteria from ever colonizing in cattle, it’s possible that we can have a real impact on human disease.” said Dr. Vanessa Sperandio, associate professor of microbiology and an author of the study. Sperandio said the study is significant because the harmful pathogen is carried in about 70 to 80 percent of cattle herds in the United States. Although E coli 0157 can be deadly for humans it can live in the guts of cattle without harming them.
Tags: Cattle E coli, E. coli Prevention
