Designer Probiotic Bacterium Treats E. coli

ADELAIDE, AustraliaA potential life-saving treatment for severe E. coli food poisoning outbreaks like the one currently occurring in Europe was developed in 2000 by researchers at the University of Adelaide; however, the it hasnt gone forward into clinical trials because of lack of commercial interest.

The researchers produced a designer" probiotic bacterium that binds and neutralizes the toxin produced by E. coli, which causes life-threatening attack on the kidneys and blood vessels. Mice infected with a highly virulent strain of E. coli were 100-percent protected by the probiotic bacterium.

The researchers said the probiotic bacterium could be produced inexpensively on a large scale; however, in spite of ongoing attention from the scientific and medical community, there has been a lack of interest from the commercial sector in taking this product forward into clinical trials.

If this had been done, and the probiotic had been proven to be safe and efficacious in humans, it could have been deployed during the current European outbreak. This would undoubtedly have saved lives, as well as millions of dollars in current and future health care costs," said Professor James Paton, Director, Research Centre for Infectious Diseases at the University of Adelaide.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed the strain of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) 0104:H4 isolated from cases in the EHEC infection outbreak in Germany is a rare one, seen in humans before, but never in an EHEC outbreak. To date, the outbreak has sickened more than 2,300 and killed 22 in 12 European countries in the past few weeks. As of last week, the Robert Koch Institute confirmed 470 cases and nine deaths from Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS), a form of acute kidney failure, from the super toxic" strain of the bacteria.

Paton said after diagnosis of E. coli infection there was a window of opportunity for therapeutic intervention before kidneys started to fail. Antibiotics are not used because they can increase the amount of toxin released in the gut.