The Rural Voice, 2001-12, Page 58Research Scrap Book
`Hamburger disease' bacteria hits farmers
A University of Guelph team of
researchers has found that farm
families in Grey, Bruce, Huron, Perth,
Oxford and Waterloo Counties are
among three areas of the province
with the highest rate of infection by
the bacterium VTEC, the same deadly
bacteria that causes hamburger disease.
The team, led by Prof. Jeff Wilson
of the Department of Population
Medicine found that infection of rural
residents by VTEC, a bacterium that
occurs naturally in cattle, came from
two sources: direct contact with cattle
and from consumption of
contaminated well water or locally
produced foods, not just hamburger.
"The results reversed the
conventional thinking at the time that
VTEC infection comes mainly from
hamburger," said Wilson. "In the past,
we believed that urban centres were at
higher risk of infection, but now we
realize the great risk that exists among
rural people."
The researchers compared
provincial information on the
geographic location of victims of the
VTEC bacteria with the cattle
populations of counties across Ontario
and found that six of nine counties
with the highest rate of infection were
in western Ontario, also areas of
mixed farming with high populations
of cattle.
Much of the problem comes from
contaminated wells. After the 1991/92
Ontario Farm Groundwater Quality
Survey showed 30 per cent of rural
wells were contaminated, a study by
researchers from U of G, McMaster
and Health Canada established the
relationship between gastrointestinal
illness and rural water quality.
"The results of the earlier study
show that individuals living on farms
with contaminated wells are twice as
likely to experience this illness than
are individuals without the bacteria,"
Wilson said. Many rural residents
exposed to VTEC develop a stronger
immunity compared with urbanites
but Wilson warns farm families not to
feel complacent. There's still an
increased risk to rural people,
especially young children, the elderly
and people with suppressed immune
systems and to visitors who are less
immune.
Infection peaks during the summer,
most likely because bacterial
populations naturally increase in cattle
and because higher temperatures
promote larger bacterial loads in food
products. As well, food preparation
methods change during the summer.
Wilson offers three tips to reduce
risk:
• Avoid letting children under the age
of five in direct contact with livestock.
Wash thoroughly if contact occurs.
• Monitor well water regularly,
especially from shallow wells, where
the risk of contamination is greater.
• Follow proper techniques for
processing and preparing foods (in
particular, raw milk should be
pasteurized) 0
— Source: University of Guelph's
Agri food Research in Ontario
New camera can detect E. coli in meat
A new camera that detects deadly E. coli bacteria on beef carcasses could be
tested in packing plants next year.
The electronic device, which scans raw beef for contaminants that harbour
germs, is produced by EMerge Interactive Inc., a U.S. company that makes
marketing and management software for the beef production industry. It
successfully competed university trials this summer at Oklahoma State
University in June and at the University of Florida in July. Bacteria -related
diseases, including those from E. coli 0157:H7 cause 76 millions illnesses and
5,000 deaths a year in the U.S., said Tom Casey, a microbiologist for the U.S.
government's Agricultural Research Service and co -inventor of the detection
system.
Developed by Iowa State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
the device examines beef carcasses and displays contaminants, even microscopic
ones, on a monitor so meat cutters can find and remove them.0
— Source: Reuters News Agency
54 THE RURAL VOICE
Loss of natural bees
could sting farmers
Food sustainability faces a
serious threat if natural pollinators
and their dwindling habitats don't
become a public concern, a
University of Guelph researcher
says.
Prof. Peter Kevan of the
Department of Environmental
Biology has been studying
pollination since 1965. Over the
years he's conducted research on
the effects of agricultural practices
on crop pollination and has come
to some alarming conclusions
about the possible future of food
diversity.
"Pollination is one of the first
key processes in food
sustainability," he says. "It's a
process that people seem to think
happens automatically and is
overlooked by the general public."
Kevan's data indicate an overall
decrease in pollination of food
crops that rely on living
organisms. Habitat destruction and
fragmentation, as well as
pesticides, are among the major
causes of the problem. When an
organism's habitat is destroyed or
fragmented into smaller areas, the
probability of pollination is greatly
reduced because of the distances
between plants found in natural
habitats, said Kevan. But more
important, the pollinators lose food
sources and nesting and mating
sites, leading to reduced
pollination serNices.
Overgrazing, land clearing and
irrigation are major factors in
habitat decline, he said. Pesticide
use can either kill pollinators or
have harmful effects on their
longevity, affecting successful
pollination in plants, whether crops
or plants in nature.
Wind -pollinated staple crops
such as cereal grains and rice are
not in danger but commodities
such as apples, strawberries and
livestock forages are seriously
threatened in various areas, Kevan
says.0
— Source: University of Guelph's
Agri food Research in Ontario