| abstract |
The prevention and treatment of carriage of E. coli O157:H7 by a ruminant animal is accomplished by administering dominant probiotic bacteria to the animal. The dominant probiotic bacteria prevent the establishment of E. coli O157:H7 when inoculated prior to administering E. coli O157:H7, are reisolatable from the gastrointestinal tract of inoculated animals for up to 28 days post-inoculation, and are capable of reducing or eliminating E. coli O157:H7 from animals previously inoculated with the pathogen. In particular, the dominant probiotic bacteria are strains E. coli 271 ATCC 202020, E. coli 786 ATCC 202018 and E. coli 797 ATCC 202019. |