CFIA approves E.coli vaccine

Monday, October 27, 2008

by BETTER FARMING STAFF

On Monday, Belleville-based Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. announced it received full licensing approval for its vaccine to reduce the presence of E. coli 0157:H7 in cattle.

The  0157 strain poses serious human health risks and was implicated in the May 2000 tainted water crisis in Walkerton. More recently it was the source of food poisoning outbreaks in North Bay, southwestern Ontario and the Niagara region.

Called Econiche, the vaccine has been available for limited use in Canada for nearly a year. Producers obtained it through a veterinarian who had to file applications for its use with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The vaccine also received licensing in the United States, on the condition that at least one step of the manufacturing process occurs there and the vaccine isn’t given a trademark name.

In 2007 Bioniche, which specializes in animal and human health products, received provincial and federal funding to scale up production of the vaccine. Vaccine supply will be limited until during the scale up, said the company’s news release. BF