2005 WSU Undergraduate Research Grant Application

Revised February 2005

Cover Sheet

__Prevalence of Escherichia coli 0157:H7 in Free-Range Cattle________

Project Title (10 words or less)

Dollar Amount Requested from Undergraduate Research Funds:                                 $1,076                                       

Anderson, Brian L.                ____________________________________________________

Student Name (last, first)

_(801)710-5697__                               _briananderson@mail.weber.edu__

Student Phone                                        Student Email

_882833464             ___________________________________________________________

Student ID #

_110_________________________                           ____Spring 2007__                    _____

Total Number of Credits Completed                         Anticipated Graduation (term/year) *

                                                                                    (*  funds may NOT be spent after graduation)

_Wright, Scott______________________________________________________________

Faculty Mentor Name (last, first)

_Clinical Laboratory Sciences, 3905, Dumke College of Health Professions

Faculty Mentor Department, Mail Code, and College

This project __X_ DOES ___ DOES NOT require review by the WSU Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects or the WSU Animal Care and Use Committee.

__________________________________                            _________________

Student Signature                                                                      Date

__________________________________                            _________________

Project Mentor Signature                                                           Date

__3905__________                 ___6716_________    

Campus Mail Code                    Phone Extension           

__________________________________                            _________________

Undergraduate Research Committee Representative                   Date

__________________________________                            _________________

Faculty Mentor Department Chair                                              Date

Project Description:

            In recent history Escherichia coli O157:H7 has emerged as a serious threat to public health.  This strain of E. coli has been implicated in hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in humans.  Due to the virulence of this organism research has taken place to prevent possible outbreaks of the disease.  It has been found that cattle exhibit the greatest threat to human infection due to our reliance upon them for food. 

Although research in dairy and slaughter yard herds has been done to a moderate degree, there is still great uncertainty of the role that cattle play in the transmission of the disease naturally.  The living conditions in which dairy and slaughter cattle are found are far from natural.  The close proximity in which dairy cattle live greatly increases the likelihood of transmission of Escherichia coli O157:H7.  Slaughter yards are commonly inundated with new cattle frequently.  This also increases the likelihood of an infected animal bringing the organism into the yard and spreading it to other cattle.  These environments differ greatly from the natural lifestyle of cattle. 

The purpose of this research project is to assess the prevalence of E. coli O157 in a free-range herd of cattle near Delta, Utah.  The research group of cattle to be used has been self-contained for several decades.  The herd is used for the production of calves which are sold each year.  The herd is kept productive by replacing the older cattle with young heifers from the herd.  The only outside source of possible contamination is in the bulls. Two new bulls replace the current bulls in the herd about every two years to give genetic variance.  The lifestyle of this herd offers a unique view into the main factors affecting the spread of E. coli O157:H7.

This project will be done in collaboration with the Veterinary Program at Washington State University.  John Anderson, who is my brother, is a third year veterinary student in the program.  The unique nature of this research group will give needed variance to the projects currently taking place at Washington State University and provide a better understanding as to the transmission of the disease.

Project Methods and Timeline

The research group will consist of 100 cattle.  The cattle range each year on the desert of west central Utah, near Delta, Utah.  The harsh conditions make it necessary to perform yearly health assessments of each animal to ensure their health is adequate prior to releasing them into the desert each year.  When the health assessment is being done, I will collect fecal samples from each animal during this routine process.  The cattle are placed into a squeeze gate where the assessment takes place.  When this is done a bowel movement is typical, and I will take this opportunity to collect my sample.  The sample will immediately be swabbed onto a CHROMagar™ culture plate, which is a culture media used to inhibit normal fecal flora and select for the growth of E. coli 0157:H. The identification marker on the ear tag of each cow will be recorded on the culture plate.

After collecting the samples, the culture plates will be transported to the CLS microbiology lab and incubated for 24 hours. Colonies of E. coli O157:H7 will be identified by a mauve color on the culture plates, as compared to clear or blue for other coliforms (non pathogenic organism).  The mauve colonies will be further tested using a Pro Lab Prolex latex agglutination kit, which will definitively identify E. coli O157:H7.  Control organism will be used to ensure the validity of the process with both the culture media and the latex agglutination test.  The process will require about a month to complete and will take place during the months of May-June.

The project design as well as the collection, processing, and write up for the project will be done by Brian Anderson (student researcher).  The role of the faculty mentor is to be a reference and aid when there are questions to be answered. The outcome of this project will result in a scholarly paper as well as presentations of the findings at WSU Spring Symposium and the USCLS (Utah Society of Clinical Laboratory Sciences) Spring Seminar, April 2006, Ogden, UT.  There is also additional research that may be done in correlation with Washington State University.   

An application to the WSU Institutional Review Board for Animal Care and Use Committee has been completed.  The committee has informed that their approval is not necessary since “you're just going to be collecting fecal material voided by cattle as they're being examined for another reason.”

References

Besser, T.E., Richards, B.L., Rice, D.H., & Hancock, D.D. (2001) Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection of calves: Infectious dose and direct contact transmission. Epidemiol Infect, 127, 555-560.

Keene, W.E., & Elder, R.O. (2002). Isolation of shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli O157 from hide surfaces and in the oral cavity of finished beef feedlot cattle. J.A.V.M.A. 220, 756-763.

Pearce, V.L., Wisely, K.A., Hamunda, A., Knight, H.I., Smith, A.W., & Amyes, S.G. (2005). Comparison of diversities of Escherichia coli O157 shed from a cohort of springborn beef calves at pasture and in housing. Applied Environmental Microbiology. 71(3), 1648-1652.

Renter, D.G., Sargeant, J.M., & Hungerford, L.L. (2004). Distribution of Escherichia coli O157:H7 within and among cattle operations in pasture-based agricultural areas. American Journal of Veterinarian Research. 65(10), 1367-1376.

Swerdlow, D.L., Woodruff, B.A., Brady, R.C., Griffin, P.M., Tippen, S., Donnell, H.D., et. al. (1992). A waterbourne outbreak in Missouri of Escherichia coli O157:H7 associated with bloody diarrhea and death. Annual Internal Medicine. 117(10), 812-819.

Project Budget

The budget needed for this project will include the costs for the materials used as well as the cost of processing the cattle.  200 Dacron swabs will be needed at a cost of $10 and 300 disposable sterile loops will be used at a cost of $32.  The CHROMagar™ plates to be used will cost $240 for 140 plates.  The Pro Lab Prolex latex agglutination kit is $50 per kit and one kit will be needed.  Other miscellaneous supplies such as gloves and labels will be $10.  Two trips to Deseret, Utah will be made, the first to arrange the project and the second to collect the fecal samples. This totals approximately 780 miles. Travel reimbursement will be $234.  The other expenses needed include paying the farmhands for the labor of managing the herd.  My involvement in the routine assessment will slow the process and therefore increase the cost to the rancher.  These costs will then be passed to me, which I am estimating at 20 hours for five farmhands (4 additional hours for each farmhand) @ $10 hr., for a total of $200.  A personal stipend of $200 is budgeted to reimburse for wages lost for me to take time off from my job at ARUP so that I can be present during the time the health assessment is being done on the farm.  After the project is completed $100 will be needed to construct a poster presentation for the WSU Spring Symposium.  The budget total equals $1,076 for the entire project.

2005 WSU Undergraduate Research Budget Worksheet

Revised February 2005

NOTE – Equipment and left-over materials purchased with this grant will remain the property of WSU

*This value denotes the cost of paying the farmhands as described below.