Phage therapy
could remove E. coli O157:H7 from livestock.
TB & Outbreaks Week.
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2003 NewsRX
2003 JUN 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A bacteria-killing virus
found in the feces of some sheep could help remove the dangerous food-borne
bacteria Escherichia coli O157:H7 from livestock.
Researchers from Evergreen State College in
"Here we report a promising new natural way of reducing pathogen
concentrations in livestock. This takes advantage of bacteriophages -
bacteria-killing viruses, harmless to humans and other animals, which have been
used extensively as antibiotics in
Dyen and his colleagues reported on a new bacteriophage (CEV1) that they
isolated from the feces of sheep naturally resistant to gut colonization by E.
coli O157:H7. Preliminary trials of CEV1 in the lab have shown that it can be
produced easily and can efficiently infect and kill the bacteria under proper
conditions. In model systems reflecting the cow/sheep gut, CEV1 completely
eliminated the bacteria in 11 days.
"CEV1 and other carefully-selected phages against E. coli O157:H7 could
be used to develop an effective management strategy to eradicate this pathogen
from livestock," says Dyen.
Outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 have been linked to the consumption of
hamburger meat, alfalfa sprouts, unpasteurized fruit juice, and even drinking
water; more than 75% of the cases can be directly traced to contamination from
carrier ruminants. The most recent data suggest that about 28% of the cattle
presented for slaughter in the
"At present, there are few therapeutic treatments for victims of this
potentially deadly infectious agent except supportive therapy to manage the
complications of cellular damage," says Dyen. "Our work focuses on
removing O157:H7 from the food chain."
This article was prepared by TB & Outbreaks Week editors from staff and other reports.
