ERADICATION OF ESCHERICHIA COLI FROM CATTLE MANURE

Authors: DIEZ-GONZALEZ, FRANCISCO - CORNELL UNIVERSITY; JARVIS, GRAEME - CORNELL UNIVERSITY; ADAMOVICH, DAVID - CORNELL UNIVERSITY; Russell, James

Submitted to: Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/8/1999
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: The livestock industry of the United States produces a large amount of manure, and manure production from dairy cattle is greater than 300 billion kg per year. Food and water supplies can be contaminated with cattle manure, and cattle feces have large numbers Escherichia coli, a bacterium that can cause human disease. E. coli persists for long periods of time in nmanure, but cattle urine has antimicrobial substances (carbonates) that kill E. coli and other bacteria. Productive cattle have a feces to urine ratio (approximately 2 to 1) that counteracts the ability of urine to kill fecal E .coli, but manure can be supplemented with carbonate and alkali, inexpensive and environmentally safe additives. When the carbonate and alkali (4 and 2g/kg, respectively) were added to cattle manure slurries, E. coli could no longer be detected (< 10 viable cells/g).

Technical Abstract: Food and water supplies can be contaminated with cattle manure, and cattle feces contains Escherichia coli, a bacterium that can cause human disease. E. coli can persist in manure, but cattle urine has antimicrobial substances (carbonate) that kills E. coli and other bacteria. Productive cattle have a feces to urine ratio (approximately 2 to 1) that counteracts the ability of urine to kill fecal E. coli, but manure can be supplemented with carbonate and alkali, safe and inexpensive additives. When the carbonate and alkali (4 and 2g/kg, respectively) were added to cattle manure slurries, E. coli could no longer be detected (< 10 viable cells/g).