Do you want to help in the fight against E. coli O157?
Bioniche welcomes all interested parties to communicate directly with the Government of Canada and urge officials to do more to fight E. coli O157:H7, the bacterium that contaminates food and water supplies and makes Canadians sick. Canada has an exciting opportunity to be a global leader in this fight by vaccinating cattle to reduce shedding of this bacterium into the environment.
E. coli O157 causes no illness in cattle and they are regarded as the primary source from which the bacterium originates. Reducing the shedding of E. coli O157 by cattle will reduce the risk of human exposure via contaminated meat, produce and water. Cattlemen need help to offset the cost of vaccinating cattle against E. coli O157. Reducing this human health risk would be a benefit to all sectors of agriculture as the contamination can be far reaching. The benefits of vaccination would also be shared by society as a whole, when consideration is given to the cost of human suffering and government health care dollars spent on treating infecting individuals.
A government-sponsored voluntary program for vaccination of cattle against E. coli O157 would:
Help reduce the likelihood that an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak such as the ones in Northern and Southern Ontario (September-November, 2008) will happen again.
Position Canada as a leader in on-farm food safety.
