Drug – bio-affecting and body treating compositions – Whole live micro-organism – cell – or virus containing
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-13
2001-05-08
Witz, Jean C. (Department: 1651)
Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions
Whole live micro-organism, cell, or virus containing
C424S093450, C424S093460, C424S429000, C424S461000, C424S463000, C426S002000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06228355
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for the control of enteric bacterial pathogens in animals using expanded matrix materials.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Despite the efforts of researchers and public health agencies, the incidence of human infections from enteropathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella,
E. coli
0157:H7, and Campylobacter has increased over the past 20 years. For example, the number of actual reported cases of human Salmonella infection exceeds 40,000 per year. However, the Communicable Disease Center estimates that the true incidence of human Salmonella infections in the United States each year may be as high as 2 to 4 million. The USDA Economic Research Service has recently reported that the annual cost of the food borne illnesses caused by six common bacterial pathogens, Campylobacter spp.,
Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia coli
0157:H7,
Listeria monocytogenes,
Salmonella spp., and
Staphylococcus aureus,
ranges from 2.9 billion to 6.7 billion dollars (Food Institute Report, USDA, AER, December, 1996). In addition to the impact of enteric pathogens on human health, many of these bacteria also cause significant infections in animals. For example, Salmonella infections in swine alone cost the United States swine industry more than 100 million dollars annually (Schwartz, 1990, “Salmonellosis in Midwestern Swine”, In: Proceedings of the United States Animal Health Assoc., pp. 443-449).
Animal food products remain a significant source of human infection by these pathogens. Contamination of meat and poultry products with many bacterial food-borne pathogens, including the particularly onerous pathogens Campylobacter spp.,
Escherichia coli
0157:H7, and Salmonella spp., often occurs as a result of exposure of the animal carcass to ingesta and/or fecal material during or after slaughter. Any of the above-mentioned pathogens can then be transmitted to humans by consumption of meat and poultry contaminated in this manner.
Preharvest control of enteropathogenic bacteria is a high priority to the food industry. However, few products have been developed to facilitate such efforts. Currently, preharvest pathogen control within the poultry industry is accomplished through use of competitive exclusion cultures or probiotics. In fact, at this time, only one such product, developed by Nisbet et al. of the USDA Agricultural Research Service (U.S. Pat. No. 5,478,557) and sold under the trademark PREEMPT (Milk Specialties Biosciences, Dundee, Ill.), is available commercially in the United States. Moreover, the administration of competitive exclusion cultures is preferably targeted to very young animals. Immune lymphokines (ILK) have also been recently developed for protecting poultry from colonization with enteric pathogens as described by Ziprin et al. (1989, Poult. Sci., 68:1637-1642), McGruder et al. (1993, Poult. Sci., 72:2264-2271), Ziprin et al. (1996, Avian Dis., 40:186-192), and Tellez et al. (1993, Avian Dis., 37:1062-1070), and more recently by Kogut et al. (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,891,443 and 5,691,200).
Despite these advances, the need persists for technologies for controlling enteric pathogens in animals, and particularly for the treatment of animals immediately prior to slaughter.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
We have now discovered a method and compositions for controlling the spread of food borne enteric bacterial pathogens in poultry populations. The incidence of the colonization of poultry by enteropathogenic bacteria, and/or the populations of enteropathogenic bacteria within colonized poultry, may by substantially reduced, by providing particles of an expanded matrix material to the locus or vicinity of the animals, particularly during the period of feed removal prior to slaughter. The method and compositions are particularly useful for the control of Salmonella species, enteropathogenic
Escherichia coli,
and Campylobacter species.
In accordance with this discovery, it is an object of this invention to provide a method for controlling food borne enteropathogenic bacteria in animals.
Another object of this invention is to provide a method for controlling the spread of enteropathogenic bacteria between animals in a population of poultry.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a method for significantly reducing the populations of enteropathogenic bacteria in meat producing animals prior to slaughter.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become readily apparent from the ensuing description.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
During the processing of poultry in slaughterhouses, carcasses may become inadvertently exposed to ingesta and/or fecal material. Consequently, contamination of the poultry product may occur if the ingesta or fecal material contain bacterial food-borne pathogens such as Campylobacter spp.,
Escherichia coli
0157:H7, and Salmonella species. The contamination of carcasses with feces or ingesta in this manner is the primary source of contamination of poultry with these pathogens.
In an effort to reduce bacterial/fecal carcass contamination in the United States, commercially produced poultry are now deprived of feed prior to their transport to the slaughterhouse. However, while this practice successfully reduces the amount of ingesta and fecal material in the bird's gut and hence decreases fecal contamination levels during processing, bacterial levels in the upper gastrointestinal tract (crop) are increased. In fact, the number of birds with crops contaminated with Salmonella or other pathogens increases from as low as 1-2% prior to feed withdrawal, to as much as 60% or more by the time of slaughter. This increase is primarily due to the birds' consumption of feces and litter lying in their vicinity; once feed has been withdrawn, the birds characteristically tend to peck at and consume feces and litter on the floor of their enclosure. Thus, bacterial pathogens may be quickly spread throughout the population. Moreover, feed withdrawal also effects an increase in the pH of the crop, providing an environment in the crop more conducive to the growth of the pathogens.
In accordance with this invention, we have discovered that the contamination of poultry with bacterial pathogens may be controlled by providing particles of an expanded matrix material to the locus or vicinity of the poultry population. Interestingly, the poultry will preferentially consume the particulate expanded matrix material rather than the feces and litter, thereby reducing the uptake of the pathogenic bacteria. Either or both of the spread of the bacterial pathogens among the population (i.e., the incidence or number of birds contaminated or colonized with the pathogens), as well as the concentration of the pathogens in the birds, may be significantly reduced in comparison to untreated controls. Moreover, in a preferred embodiment, even greater control of the pathogens may be achieved by incorporating one or more disinfectants or bactericidal agents in the particles.
Virtually any enteropathogenic bacterium may be controlled in accordance with this technique, including but not limited to Salmonella species, enteropathogenic
Escherichia coli
0157:H7, and Campylobacter species. While the process may be used for the treatment of a variety of poultry, it is preferred for use with meat producing poultry such as ducks, geese, and particularly chickens and turkeys where large populations are commonly reared in confined pens or enclosures.
In the preferred embodiment, the particles of expanded matrix material are provided to the poultry during any period of feed removal or restriction. In the particularly preferred embodiment, the particles are provided during the period of feed removal which is instituted prior to slaughter (also referred to as processing) and/or transport to the slaughterhouse. Although the precise time of the feed withdrawal may vary between producers, it will typically be within about 1 day prior to slaughter of the poultry, most often within about 12 to 24 hours prio
Byrd, II James A.
Corrier Donald E.
Corrier Juanita P.
Stanker Larry H.
Corrier Juanita P.
Deck Randall E.
Fado John D.
Silverstein M. Howard
The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of
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