News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – Bioniche Life Sciences, based in Belleville, Ont., announced recently that it received full approval from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to market the world's first vaccine to reduce Escherichia coli O157:H7 shedding by cattle, a measure that could decrease contamination in meat and produce.

(CIDRAP News) – An outbreak of Escherichia coli O111 infections in Oklahoma seems to have run its course after sickening 314 people, putting 72 in hospitals, and killing one, Oklahoma officials announced yesterday.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) said that the last known case-patient fell ill Sep 6 and that it believed the outbreak was over.

(CIDRAP News) – Nine research  teams that  shared $2 million from Fresh Express, a California produce company, recently presented their findings on Escherichia coli O157:H7, revealing some clues on the pathogen's behavior on leafy greens that could lead to safer produce.

(CIDRAP News) – The number of people involved in a restaurant-related outbreak of an uncommon strain of Escherichia coli has risen to 291, including 67 who were hospitalized, Oklahoma officials reported recently.

Sixteen of the hospital patients have received kidney dialysis treatment, the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) reported in its latest official update on Sep 12. One person, a 26-year-old man, has died in the outbreak.

(CIDRAP News) – A restaurant-related illness outbreak in Oklahoma featuring an uncommon strain of Escherichia coli has expanded to involve at least 231 people, 61 of whom have been hospitalized, Oklahoma health officials announced today.

(CIDRAP News) – At the request of a meat industry group, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is considering allowing the low-dose irradiation of beef carcasses to kill pathogenic bacteria on the surface.

(CIDRAP News) – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved the use of irradiation to kill pathogens in fresh spinach and iceberg lettuce, which were linked to Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreaks that sickened hundreds of people in the fall of 2006.

(CIDRAP News) – Nebraska Beef, Ltd., a processor based in Omaha, has recalled 1.2 million pounds of its beef after federal and state officials linked its products to a second multistate Escherichia coli O157H7 outbreak that has so far sickened 31 people in 12 states and Canada.

(CIDRAP News) – An Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreak at a Boy Scout camp in Virginia has been linked to ground beef from a California company, prompting the firm to recall 153,630 pounds of beef, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported today.

(CIDRAP News) – Massachusetts officials announced yesterday that they were investigating six Escherichia coli O157:H7 illnesses that are linked to a multistate outbreak, while Virginia officials report that E coli has sickened as many as 73 Boy Scouts at a camp.