Swedish agencies to trial Bioniche E. coli vaccine

Swedish government researchers will use Bioniche’s (ASX:BNC) E. coli O157 cattle vaccine Econiche in an on-farm immunisation intervention study.

The Swedish National Veterinary Institute, Swedish Animal Health and the Swedish Board of Agriculture have collaborated with Bioniche to secure a special treatment certification to allow the vaccine to be imported into Sweden for the study.

Sweden has been researching implementing measures to reduce human infection from verotoxigenic E. coli in cattle for several years.

From monitoring of cattle farm and slaughterhouse samples, a sub-group of the O157 strain has consistently been associated with the most secure cases of human illness from VTEC.

The Swedish National Veterinary Institute’s Dr Erik Eriksson said studies to date have focused on improving hygiene procedures and placing controls on animal movement on and between farms.

“[But] we expect that an immunisation of cattle could be very helpful as an additional intervention on some farms and could form part of a future control program,” he said.

If the initial research is successful, the Swedish agencies plan to conduct a multifarm vaccination study in problem areas.

Cattle are thought to be the primary carriers of verotoxigenic E. coli O157. The bacterium can be spread from animals to humans through tainted uncooked meat, unpasteurised milk or at visitor farms and petting zoos through contact with water or faeces.

A UK government agency issued a similar import certificate for Econiche last year.

Earlier this month, Bioniche secured a C$500,000 ($474,000) Canadian government grant for its research into developing a second-generation E. coli O157 vaccine.

Bioniche shares were trading unchanged at $0.23 as of around 12.30 pm on Friday.