A2B-Lancastor Farming. Saturday, May 21, 1994
Dairy Calf Study Indicates Need For Management Change
HUNTINGDON (Huntingdon
Co.) The U.S. Department of
Agriculture has announced that a
recently completed one-year study
indicates that herd management
practices may have an impact on
the prevalence of the pathogen G.
coli 0157:H7 in dairy herds.
‘This finding is valuable and
could point to ways to lower the
levels of E. coli 0157:H7 in cattle
and thus reduce the incidence of
food poisoning and related diseas
es in humans,” said Patricia Jen
sen, acting assistant secretary for
marketing and inspection services.
Cattle shedtthe E. coli 0157:H7
organism in their feces, which can
contaminate the environment and
expose other animals. Although
cattle carry and shed the bacteria
without becoming ill, human ill
nesses associated with E. coli
0157:H7 can include bloody diar
rhea and hemorrhagic uremic syn
drome, a serious kidney disease
and the leading cause of acute kid
ney failure in children.
Sources of human infection
vary, but many documented out
breaks of disease have been traced
to undercooked beef.
Humans can become
exposed through con
suming contaminated
undercooked meat, un
treated water, unpas
teurized milk, or mater
ials cross contaminated
with these products.
Person-to-person trans
mission is also an im
portant source of sec
ondary infections in hu
mans.
Jensen said the dairy
heifer study, conducted
by USDA’s Animal and
Plant Health Inspection
Service, is only one of a
number of efforts by the
department to improve
the safety of meat and
poultry products.
“Over the past year,”
she said, “we have ini
tiated a strategic patho
gen reduction program
that aims to reduce mi
crobial contamination
from the farm to the ta
ble.”
The study that APHIS
conducted through its
National Animal Health
Monitoring System fol
lowed newborn calves
to the weaning stage.
The study included
1,811 dairy operations
in 28 states, Fecal sam
ples collected from
about 7,000 preweaned
calves from more than
1,000 dairy operations
were tested for presence
of the pathogen.
Samples from 25 of
these calves from 19
farms in 16 states tested
positive for the organ
ism, for a prevalence of
3.6 per 1,000 calves.
Farms with positive test
results were spread
across the country, and
no regional or seasonal
clustering was found.
The project next con
ducted a follow-up stu
dy on 64 of the study
herds to look at shed
ding patterns (expelling
the organism in feces) in
infected herds and to de
termine management
factors that might be as
sociated with infection.
An increase in prevalence was
identified at eight weeks of age,
the average age at which calves
were weaned. Weaned calves
were three times more likely to
test positive than nursing calves.
The study found that if calves
were grouped before weaning, the
herd was nine times more likely to
test positive, than if they were
grouped after weaning. This indi
cates that grouping calves before
weaning may increase transmis
sion of E. coli to other calves or
precipitate shedding of the patho
gen in calves already carrying it in
their systems. .
Jensen said USDA’s food safe
ly emphasis last year was on en
forcement and on developing a
science-based inspection system.
She said food safety improve
ments have included special unan
nounced reviews of meat and
poultry plants, which resulted in
temporarily stopping activities at
several plants; mandating and im
proving training on zero tolerance
for fecal matter on beef carcasses;
increased research from the farm
to the table to develop methods to
detect and destroy pathogens, as
well as new inspection methods
based on sound science; rapid bac
teria lest research: and the hiring
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GETTYSBURG (Adams Co.)
The Adams County Poultry
Association has voted to provide
$2,000 in scholarship funds to
Penn State University for the
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To be eligible, students must be
from Adams County, be enrolled
tic
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of 200 additional inspectors .in the
Food Safety and Inspection Ser
vice and an additional 200 in the
fiscal 1995 budget.
“We are in the process of issu
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ing a final rule mandating safe
cooking and handling labels for
raw and partially cooked meat and
poultry products,” Jensen noted.
“USDA also is engaged in a broad
range of cooperative efforts with
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the states and with other federal
agencies to enhance food safety.
Currently, more than 70 pathogen
reduction activities arc under
way.”
ditional information can be ob
tained from Walter P. Griest, 2710
Mummasburg Road, Gettysburg,
Pa 17325, (717) 677-8646 or from
the Adams County Extension Of
fice, 1135 Chambersburg Rd.,
Gettysburg, PA 17325 (717)
334-6271.
Deadline for forms is June 15.
MEMBER