GENE-UP^® & Cattle Hide Swabs

October 15, 2021

A study in conjunction with a leading US beef producer compared Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) detection results from 62 cattle hide samples using both GENE-UP® and widely used current PCR methods. Current detection methods are not always accurate due to cross-reactions of naturally occurring pathogens on cattle hide. These tests have a high rate of unconfirmed screening results, which causes costly delays and recalls. USDA-FSIS considers the presence of E. coli O157:H7 in addition to the top six STEC serogroups: O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145 in non-intact raw beef as adulterant. Each of these serogroups can cause severe illness and even death. Therefore, producers need the fastest, most sensitive, and most accurate STEC detection system. bioMérieux’s GENE-UP® EHEC Series Solutions combines automated immunoselection with a highly specific and sensitive real-time PCR, using VIDAS® and Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) technology.