PULLMAN, Wash.—Researchers at Washington State University received a $1 million grant from the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative to investigate whether previous research into stopping 0157:H7 bacteria at its source—cattle—may be more effective once different strains of the disease are considered.
The 3-year USDA grant will be used to find genetic markers that clearly define differences in the five strains. Researchers will use the markers to take a new look at the effectiveness of different treatments and strategies. The grant also will involve an outreach program aimed at improving the accuracy of 0157 information going to industry, health professionals, the media and policymakers.
Tom Besser, professor of veterinary microbiology at WSU, hopes to stop the bacteria by focusing specifically on beef and dairy cattle and the different types of E. coli they harbor.
“Cattle don’t get sick from this,” he said. “It doesn’t bother them. But that still doesn’t mean we can’t go into cattle and maybe do something to reduce their infection rate with 0157. And we think if we do, then depending on how important cattle are as a source for humans, the human rate should go down too.”
Besser has seen promising work in reducing the rate with which cattle get infected. Vaccines, probiotics and certain feeds have had some good results in reducing the numbers of infected cattle. Researchers also found that much the bacteria die off in winter but return strongly in summer.
