E. coli News and Research

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E. coli or Escherichia coli is the name of a type of bacteria that lives in your intestines. Most types of E. coli are harmless. However, some types can make you sick and cause diarrhea. One type causes travelers' diarrhea. The worst type of E. coli causes bloody diarrhea, and can sometimes cause kidney failure and even death. These problems are most likely to occur in children and in adults with weak immune systems. You can get E. coli infections by eating foods containing the bacteria. To help avoid food poisoning and prevent infection, handle food safely. Cook meat well, wash fruits and vegetables before eating or cooking them, and avoid unpasteurized milk and juices. You can also get the infection by swallowing water in a swimming pool contaminated with human waste. Most cases of E. coli infection get better without treatment in 5 to 10 days.

Mud may help fight MRSA infections

Scientists in Arizona report that minerals from clay could form the basis of a new generation of inexpensive, highly-effective antimicrobials for fighting MRSA infections that are moving out of health care settings and into the community.

7 Apr 2008

New method for rapid screening large numbers of antigens

A team of Washington State University scientists has devised a method that could lead to the development of vaccines against some of the most troubling infectious diseases we face diseases that have so far been difficult or impossible to vaccinate against.

26 Mar 2008

Microbes in the guts of carpenter ants could lead to better drugs

Scientists have discovered two key proteins that guide one of the two groups of pathogenic bacteria to make their hardy outer shells -- their defense against the world.

26 Mar 2008

PharmAthene signs agreement to acquire biodefense vaccines business from Avecia

PharmAthene, Inc., a biodefense company specializing in the development and commercialization of medical countermeasures against biological and chemical threats, and Avecia Biologics Limited, a contract manufacturer of biopharmaceuticals, has announced that the companies have entered into a definitive sale and purchase agreement under which PharmAthene will acquire all of the assets and intellectual property related to Avecia's biodefense vaccines business.

24 Mar 2008

New method to determine the “selective signature” of a gene

Scientists at MIT have come up with a mathematical approach for analyzing a protein simultaneously in a set of ecologically distinct species to identify occurrences of natural selection in an organism's evolution.

19 Mar 2008

Foodborne outbreaks due to leafy green consumption on the increase

Over the past 35 years the proportion of foodborne outbreaks linked to the consumption of leafy green vegetables has substantially increased and that increase can not be completely attributed to Americans eating more salads according to research presented today (March 17) at the 2008 International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases in Atlanta, Georgia.

18 Mar 2008

Caspase-12: MUHC researcher finds new defense mechanism against intestinal inflammation

The body's first line of defence against pathogenic bacteria that we ingest may not be the immune system but rather the cells that line the intestine.

13 Mar 2008

Anadis licenses antibody technologies from ImmuCell

Anadis Limited, an Australian-based biotechnology company focused on milk derived polyclonal antibodies and other milk-derived bioactives, announced today that it had signed a final agreement with ImmuCell Corporation, a biotechnology company headquartered in Portland, Maine, USA.

11 Mar 2008

Scientists unlock secrets of E coli contamination

Using new genetic techniques, scientists are unlocking the secrets of how E coli bacteria contaminate food and make people sick.

11 Mar 2008

MIT cell-based sensor technology quickly detects airborne pathogens

Researchers at MIT Lincoln Laboratory have developed a powerful sensor that can detect airborne pathogens such as anthrax and smallpox in less than three minutes.

6 Mar 2008

Potential target to treat deadly bloodstream infections

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have discovered a possible target to treat bloodstream bacterial infections.

28 Feb 2008

New vaccine technology decreases E. coli in beef cattle

Despite millions of dollars spent on food safety research over the last 10 years, ground beef recalls due to E. coli O157:H7 were higher in 2007 than in 2006, according to researchers from Kansas State University and West Texas A&M University. E. coli O157:H7 has been linked to foodborne illnesses in humans after consuming contaminated beef and produce.

28 Feb 2008

Other types of E. coli shouldn't be ignored

While many of us are worried about E. coli 0157 in our food supply, a pre-harvest food safety expert at Kansas State University cautions that other types of E. coli shouldn't go ignored.

27 Feb 2008

DuPont and USDA ARS to collaborate on new E. coli test in beef

DuPont and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are teaming up to find new ways to detect an E. coli strain in beef that, even in low concentrations, can cause severe illness.

21 Feb 2008

Emerging-disease hotpsots mapped

An international research team has provided the first scientific evidence that deadly emerging diseases have risen steeply across the world, and has mapped the outbreaks' main sources.

21 Feb 2008

Researchers examine animal antibiotic resistance, possible human link

It's bad enough when pathogenic bacteria work their way into the animal food supply.

20 Feb 2008

Deadly E. coli bug now threatening communities outside of hospitals

Scientists are warning of the increasing threat from infections caused by antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria.

19 Feb 2008

Massive beef recall in the U.S. of meat for school lunch programs

A slaughterhouse in the United States has been accused of mistreating cows and forced to recall 143 million pounds of beef, the biggest beef recall yet in U.S. history.

18 Feb 2008

Researchers find new U.S. trend in antibiotic resistance

A research team from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, examining bacterial isolates obtained in hospital and non-hospital clinical settings between 2000 and 2006, has identified drug-resistant strains of E. coli and Klebsiella bacteria in more than 50 blood, urine and respiratory samples.

11 Feb 2008

Bioniche receives funding to scale-up E. coli O157:H7 vaccine production

Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. has announced that it has secured a $5 million commercial loan from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) in support of the scale-up of vaccine production at its Belleville, Ontario facility.

8 Feb 2008