An E.coli vaccine for cattle is now approved for use in Canada.
The vaccine is called econiche and is designed to help reduce the spread of a deadly strain of E.coli called 0157.
This is the same strain that caused a recent outbreak at a Harvey's restaurant in Ontario, and a deadly outbreak in Walkerton.
Researchers at the University of British Columbia are responsible for the Canadian version of the vaccine. "Where the disease comes from is people encountering contaminated products, either food or water type items, that's been contaminated by cow feces. So, if we block the colonization of cows by 157 we basically decrease the number that humans are exposed to and then drop the disease levels in humans," says Dr. Brett Finlay from UBC.
The vaccine is now available to Canadian cattle producers and veterinarians.
