Direct-fed Microbial Products for Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Market Ready Feedlot Cattle

Authors

Robert E. Peterson, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
David R. Smith, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Jeffrey D. Folmer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Galen E. Erickson, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Susan Hinkley, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Rodney A. Moxley, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

January 2005

Comments

Published in 2005 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report. Copyright © 2004 The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska.

Abstract

A clinical trial was conducted during the summers of 2002 and 2003 to evaluate the effect of a direct-fed microbial product (DFM) on the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in feces of feedlot steers. The DFM consisted of Lactobacillus acidophilus (NPC 747) fed at the rate of 1x109 colony forming units (CFUs) per head per day. Treatments included supplemental DFM or no supplemental DFM. Feedlot steers supplemented with DFM were 35% less likely to shed E. coli O157:H7 in the feces compared with steers that were not supplemented with the DFM. Finishing performance was not affected by adding a DFM into the ration.