FDA OKs bacteria-eating virus to treat meat - Infectious Diseases -

[Guest guest]

" wellness " <wellness

Fri, 18 Aug 2006 15:20:56 -0500

[Mr_Tracys_Corner] FDA OKs bacteria-eating virus to treat

meat - Infectious Diseases - MSNBC.com

 

 

What fun. And if you eat it raw, you get all the more of this stuff....

 

Sara

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14410160

 

FDA OKs bacteria-eating virus to treat meat

Preparation targets microbes that kill hundreds of people a year

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WASHINGTON - A mixture of six bacteria-killing viruses can be safely

sprayed on meat and poultry to combat common microbes that kill

hundreds of people a year, federal health officials said Friday.

 

The mixture of special viruses, called bacteriophages, would target

strains of Listeria monocytogenes, the Food and Drug Administration

said in declaring it is safe to use. The viruses are designed to be

sprayed on ready-to-eat meat and poultry products just before they are

packaged.

 

The bacterium they target can cause a serious infection called

listeriosis, primarily in pregnant women, newborns and adults with

weakened immune systems. In the United States, an estimated 2,500

persons become seriously ill with listeriosis each year, according to

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those, 500 die.

 

The preparation of bacteriophages ‹ the name is Greek for

³bacteria-eater² ‹ infects only various strains of the Listeria

bacterium and not human or plant cells, the FDA said.

 

People normally come into contact with phages through food, water and

the environment, and they are found in our digestive tracts, the FDA said.

 

The viral preparation is made by Intralytix Inc. The Baltimore company

first petitioned the FDA in 2002 to allow the viruses to be used as a

food additive.

 

Messages left with the company and the FDA were not immediately

returned Friday.

 

The viruses are grown in a preparation of the very bacteria they kill,

and then purified. The FDA had concerns that the virus preparation

potentially could contain toxic residues associated with the bacteria.

However, testing did not reveal the presence of such residues, which

likely wouldn¹t cause health problems anyway, the FDA said.

 

Scientists have long studied bacteriophages as a bacteria-fighting

alternative to antibiotics.

 

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