>Why not just find out how Newman Turner eliminated this problem?
>
>Misha wrote:
>
>> Howdy, all--
>>
>> As long as we're on the topic of university-industry "partnerships"
>> in response to on-farm problems....
>>
>> peace
>> misha
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> >FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 7/19/99
>> >For More Information:
>> >William Goodger, (608) 263-7896; wgoodger@facstaff.wisc.edu
>> >Alison Taunton-Rigby, (508) 766-2700
>> >
>> >
>> >Note to editors: Downloadable high-resolution images of Holstein cows
are
>> >available at http://www.news.wisc.edu/newsphotos/cows.html
>> >
>> >
>> >PROMISING MASTITIS TREATMENT TO GET WISCONSIN TEST RUN
>> >
>> >MADISON - A new bovine mastitis product that enhances the cow's immune
>> >system and may curb the costliest disease facing dairy farmers will
undergo
>> >a key trial this year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
>> >
>> >A United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) licensing study will be
>> >conducted at UW-Madison's Charmany Experimental Farm on the mastitis
>> >product Quilvax-M, developed by the Massachusetts firm Aquila
>> >Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. Aquila has been working with scientists from
>> >UW-Madison's School of Veterinary Medicine since 1993 on developing and
>> >testing the product.
>> >
>> >"This is one of three studies that will be run in parallel and is based
on
>> >earlier trials where we were able to demonstrate promising safety,
>> >immunogenicity and effectiveness," says Alison Taunton-Rigby, president
and
>> >chief executive officer of Aquila, based in Framingham, Mass.
>> >
>> >If the licensing study confirms earlier tests, the drug could
significantly
>> >reduce the estimated $2 billion in annual mastitis-related economic
losses,
>> >says William Goodger, a UW-Madison professor of veterinary medicine and
>> >principal investigator of the trial.
>> >
>> >Mastitis, an inflammation in the cow's udder, is caused by bacterial
>> >infections, the most common culprits being S. aureus and E. coli. The
>> >disease tends to lower the productivity of the cow and reduce the
quality of
>> >the milk. It often strikes the most productive cows in a herd.
>> >
>> >The UW-Madison site will focus on testing the effectiveness of the
product
>> >against the S. aureus bacteria. In the past two months, Goodger says the
>> >research team has identified 44 Holstein cows from farmers across
Wisconsin
>> >that fit enrollment criteria for the study. They will be treating the
cows
>> >with the product and later challenging the animals with the S. aureus
>> >bacteria, commonly referred to as "staph."
>> >
>> >Goodger says the product helps maintain the normal quality of the milk.
>> >Cows with mastitis tend to produce milk with a high somatic cell count,
>> >which are inflammatory white blood cells that greatly devalue the milk.
>> >
>> >"In previous trials, we were able to show that the somatic cell counts
of
>> >the animals stayed relatively normal," he says.
>> >
>> >The staph bacteria are extremely common on Wisconsin dairy farms, and
are
>> >found to some extent in about 80 percent of the state's herds. "It's a
>> >chronic disease and farmers have a common line, 'once a staph cow,
always a
>> >staph cow,' " Goodger says. "We had to sample the bulk milk tanks of 600
>> >herds in Wisconsin to identify 134 farms that had cows testing negative
for
>> >S. aureus. In the past, farmers have gotten frustrated and culled their
>> >cows (with staph)," he adds. "But that's absolutely the most expensive
way
>> >to treat the disease."
>> >
>> >Goodger and co-investigators Chet Thomas, a pathobiological sciences
>> >professor; and Chris Eisele, a research associate; have collaborated
with
>> >Aquila since 1993. This new study will be a significant milestone in the
>> >project by proving the product's market benefits and satisfying the
USDA's
>> >requirements of safety and effectiveness.
>> >
>> >"This has been a wonderful relationship with the farmers, the
veterinarians
>> >in the field, the UW experts in dairy science and production medicine,
and
>> >the company," Goodger says. "This relationship is what has made this
>> >research program successful."
>> >
>> >Aquila is a life sciences company developing and commercializing a range
of
>> >proprietary products which enhance the immune response in animals and
>> >humans. Its products are intended for use in treating, controlling and
>> >preventing infectious diseases, cancers and autoimmune disorders.
>> >
>> >The study will run through spring 2000, and Quilvax-M may become
>> >commercially available later next year.
>> >###
>> >- Brian Mattmiller, (608) 262-9772
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >***********************************
>> >For questions or comments about UW-Madison's email
>> >news release system, please send an email to:
>> >UW-news@facstaff.wisc.edu
>> >
>> >For more UW-Madison news, please visit the
>> >Office of News and Public Affairs Web site:
>> >http://www.news.wisc.edu/
>> >
>> >Office of News and Public Affairs
>> >University of Wisconsin-Madison
>> >28 Bascom Hall
>> >500 Lincoln Drive
>> >Madison, WI 53706
>> >
>> >Email: UW-news@facstaff.wisc.edu
>> >Phone: (608) 262-3571
>> >Fax: (608) 262-2331
>> >
>> >**************************************************************
>> >* Brian Mattmiller / Office of News and Public Affairs *
>> >* University of Wisconsin-Madison *
>> >* Room 25 Bascom Hall / 500 Lincoln Dr. / Madison, WI 53706 *
>> >* ph: 608/262-9772 / fax: 608/262-2331 *
>> >**************************************************************
>>
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> Michele Gale-Sinex
>> Communications manager
>> Center for Integrated Ag Systems, UW-Madison
>> http://www.wisc.edu
>> UW voice mail: 608-262-8018
>> Home office: 415-504-6474 (504-MISH)
>> Home office fax: Same as above, phone first for enabling
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> I eat everything. If anything is there, I eat it. I presume it is
>> safe and good. --U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman
>>
>> To Unsubscribe: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command
>> "unsubscribe sanet-mg". If you receive the digest format, use the
command
>> "unsubscribe sanet-mg-digest".
>> To Subscribe to Digest: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command
>> "subscribe sanet-mg-digest".
>>
>> All messages to sanet-mg are archived at:
>> http://www.sare.org/htdocs/hypermail
>
>
>
>
>
>
>To Unsubscribe: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command
>"unsubscribe sanet-mg". If you receive the digest format, use the command
>"unsubscribe sanet-mg-digest".
>To Subscribe to Digest: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command
>"subscribe sanet-mg-digest".
>
>All messages to sanet-mg are archived at:
>http://www.sare.org/htdocs/hypermail
>
To Unsubscribe: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command
"unsubscribe sanet-mg". If you receive the digest format, use the command
"unsubscribe sanet-mg-digest".
To Subscribe to Digest: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command
"subscribe sanet-mg-digest".
All messages to sanet-mg are archived at:
http://www.sare.org/htdocs/hypermail