Scientist's eureka
moment lead to E. coli vaccine for cows
Cheryl Chan , Canwest News
Service
Published: Monday, November 03, 2008
VANCOUVER - The first-ever vaccine against a deadly E. coli
strain - approved by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency last week - was
conceived by a microbiologist at the University of B.C.
Dr. Brett Finlay, a professor in the Michael Smith
Laboratories, was out for a run about a decade ago when he had a eureka moment on how to reduce cases of infection caused
by E. coli O157: H7.
"It dawned on me that we should vaccinate the cows, not
the people, because cows carry the organisms and that's how they spread the
disease," said Finlay from his
"It's a cow vaccine for a human disease. That's part of
the novelty and uniqueness of it."
E. coli O157 live harmlessly in the
intestines of cows. In humans, however, they release a toxin that can cause
diarrhea, abdominal cramps, kidney failure and in severe cases, multiple organ
failure and death.
E. coli O157 is the same strain found in the contaminated
water supply in Walkerton, Ont., in 2000 in which 2,500 residents were infected
and seven died.
It is also responsible for a recent outbreak at a
Finlay's research eventually led to the vaccine called Econiche, which is produced by Ontario-based
biopharmaceutical company Bioniche Life Sciences.
The vaccine inhibits the growth of the bacteria in cows,
reducing the amount shed into the environment through manure, and thus reducing
the risk to humans. People can contract the bacteria from contaminated food and
water, eating improperly cooked meat and through direct animal contact, such as
in petting zoos and fairs.
"It prevents them from colonizing," said Finlay.
"One goes in and one comes out, as opposed to one going in and tens and
hundreds of billions coming out."
While the vaccine is already available to Canadian cattle
farmers and veterinarians, its implementation is still up for discussion, said
Finlay, because it's a cattle vaccine for a human disease.
"The cows aren't getting sick so Joe Cattle Farmer
would ask why should I vaccinate cows when they're
fine," he said.
But Finlay noted that vaccination would serve the interests
of the North American meat industry, which recalls about 40 million pounds of
ground meat annually.
The vaccine costs $10 per cow and is administered in three
injections.
Source:
canada.com