Rockville, MD - Nymox Pharmaceutical Corporation announced that Nymox's Pharmaceutical Division has developed a potent new antibacterial, NXC4720, which has been shown to be highly active against all known substrains of E. Coli 0157, the bacteria.
The new Nymox antibacterial destroys all 0157 strains, including H7, efficiently, rapidly and at a very low dose. NXC4720 is targeted for industrial testing in the next 6-12 months.
Work to date has indicated that NXC4720 is non-toxic in animals, has a good stability profile and a very useful host range. “Studies done so far indicate that NXC4720 is a very promising candidate for preventive use against this dreaded pathogen in animals, meat processing plants and other contaminated sources, as well as in the population at risk in the event of an outbreak,” said Dr. Hossein Ghanbari, Senior Vice President for Research & Development at Nymox.
E. Coli 0157:H7 is a highly virulent bacteria, which causes severe diarrhea that can have serious secondary effects. The infection affects approximately 100,000 persons per year. The serious secondary effects, which occasionally occur with the infection, include hemorrhage in the gastrointestinal tract, anemia and kidney failure. 0157:H7 infection is increasingly becoming one of the world's most important food-borne infections.
E. coli can be transmitted from vegetables, water, dairy products and other sources. Grinding beef distributes the deadly bacteria into all levels of the hamburger patty. The contamination does not usually occur on steak because the bacteria are found on the surface only and are generally killed by cooking. The cattle industry was allowed last year to begin irradiating beef to kill bacteria, although the concept of radiation of a food source has drawbacks. Antibiotic treatment of infected humans poses dangers because of toxin release from the killed bacteria, and therefore this has focused work on preventive measures.
“We believe that NXC4720 is a significant development in an area of important public concern. We believe that NXC4720 has great potential for use in the meat industry to safeguard the public from this deadly pathogen. Preventive measures for the environment and for food products are practical uses of immense potential importance,” said Dr. Ghanbari.
Meat Industry Insights News Service
P.O. Box 553
Northport, NY 11768
Phone: 631-757-4010
Fax: 631-757-4060
E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com
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