Nathan Robert is a survivor of a devastating E. coli infection.
When he was just two-years-old, he became very ill with abdominal pains and severe bloody diarrhea.
The infection progressed to an illness that damaged his kidneys.
"The blood tests are the things that indicated to them that it was something seriously wrong and then they told us that it was probably E. coli," said Nathan's mother, Brigitte.
From the contaminated water supply in Walkerton, Ontario, to hamburger disease, to tainted spinach, strains of E. coli bacteria have threatened many Canadian's health--prompting emergency public health advisories and food recalls.
One strain, called 0157: H7, is often excreted by cattle in their manure.
When people are infected with the strain, it can be fatal.
"Where the disease comes from is people encountering contaminated products, either food or water type items that's been contaminated by cow feces," says Dr. Brett Finlay.
But now a Canadian discovery -- the result of research from the University of British Columbia and a biotech company -- has led to the development of a new vaccine. It's the first of its kind, and could dramatically reduce the number of E. coli excreted by cattle.
The vaccine works by preventing the E. coli from binding to a cow's intestinal wall.
"If we can block the colonization of cows by 157, we basically decrease the number that humans are exposed to and then drop the disease levels in humans," says UBC's Dr. Brett Finlay.
The vaccine is called "Econiche."
Now, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has approved the vaccine, allowing farmers to give it to their cattle.
"Everything that we've done at this farm and this beef operation has been about food safety," says farmer Kim Anthony. "The E. coli vaccine fits into that. It's been a missing link in the industry thus far."
A simple vaccination that could help prevent E. coli infections, and keep people like Nathan from getting sick.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Dr. Rhonda Low
