What do peanut butter, spinach and oysters have in common? All these food products have been recently in the news because they were spreading foodborne diseases among consumers; some people died as a result of the ingestion of tainted food.
Thanks to a $10 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which is part of the National Institutes of Health, a team of
The WSU team, which is among six research units to receive this grant nationally, is seeking ways to protect the safety of the food and water supply in the U.S. “By comparing animal and human strains of the bacteria, we can see what species are carriers of the strains that cause disease among humans,” said Tom Besser, professor in the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology and principal investigator of the grant at WSU.
While people can be infected by tainted food, studies are finding that contact with agent-carrier animals will cause humans to get the bacteria in their systems. ”Among the 13 projects under way, we are studying occupational exposure; how farmers might be exposed to bacteria by working with animals carrying some strains of the bacteria. Even petting zoos have been the focus of some studies due to the presence of E.Coli in their facilities,” Besser said.
Besser’s long-term goal is the development of practical measures to reduce the prevalence of these agents in animals as a means of reducing the risk of human disease. “It is important for people to be aware of the potential danger of these agents. Outbreaks generate a lot of news coverage and raise awareness of specific problems, like the ‘spinach scare’ last year where contamination with E. coli O157:H7 resulted in about 200 people getting sick and three deaths. But the bigger problem is the day-to-day illness not part of outbreaks and so not much covered by the news, since it is estimated that 73,000 people get sick from this agent every year.”
Besser can be reached at (509) 335-6075 or tbesser@vetmed.wsu.edu.
