Glickman Announces New Rapid Test For
Antibiotic-Resistant Salmonella; Also Touts Clinton Administration’s
Leadership in Promoting Food SafetyBy Jill Lee
January 20, 1999NASHVILLE, Jan. 20--Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman today
announced that U.S. Department of
Agriculture scientists have developed a technique to rapidly detect
DT104, a potentially
deadly strain of Salmonella bacteria that resists many antibiotics. The
researchers found a key gene sequence, present only in this virulent strain of
Salmonella, that allows for quick identification. “Quickly identifying outbreaks of this bacteria is vital to protecting
public health,” said Glickman. “This important research cuts
identification time from six weeks to two hours.” The sooner physicians
know that they are dealing with DT104, the sooner they can begin the aggressive
treatments needed to combat the bacteria. Delays in identifying DT104 almost
cost a Vermont dairy farmer her life in 1997 and killed 14 of her cows. The
pathogen has killed people in Great Britain and sickened children in Nebraska. No test kit currently exists to use the new technique to detect DT104. This
discovery opens the door to development of test kits, Glickman said. He added
that such a kit might be able to detect the pathogen in blood samples or in
run-off water from animal production. Lance Bolton, Lynda Kelley and Paula Cray, scientists at the
Agricultural Research Service’s
Poultry
Microbiological Safety Research Unit in Athens, Ga., worked closely with
University of Georgia researchers to develop
the new DT104 test. Glickman also praised the Clinton Administration’s record of
accomplishment on promoting food safety. He said the Administration would seek
an additional $106.9 million for food safety activities in the fiscal 2000
budget proposal. “President Clinton’s
National Food Safety
Initiative is enhancing inspections, expanding cutting-edge research, and
promoting foodborne disease surveillance,” Glickman said. “And the
results demonstrate that our comprehensive, farm-to-table strategy is
working.” Scientific contact: Lance Bolton and Lynda Kelley, Poultry
Microbiological Safety Research Unit, ARS Richard B. Russell Research Center,
Athens, Ga., phone (706) 546-3524, fax (706) 546-3771,
[email protected] and
[email protected]. U.S. Department of Agriculture | |