An outbreak of E. coli in the UK is due to salad leaves; or is it?

We are being told that a recent outbreak of E. coli in the UK is due to salad leaves.  Considering the falsities we’ve been told over the last four years about covid, it is reasonable to at least consider whether there could be other causes – such as genetic engineering research or vaccines.

A recent outbreak of E. coli in the UK is believed to be caused by some supermarket sandwiches containing salad leaves. According to reports, one person has died and 275 confirmed cases have been reported across the country as of 25 June.

“The infection has hospitalised 122 and to date, seven cases of the severe haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), a medical emergency linked to [Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (“STEC”)] which can lead to kidney failure and death have been reported,” the Daily Mail reported.

The UK Health Security Agency (“UKHSA”) said that although the rate of new STEC cases is declining they expect more cases in the coming days as further samples from suspected patients are analysed.

We are being told the outbreak is due to salad leaves but we have to ask the question:  Could the E. coli outbreak be related to gain-of-function or protein engineering research, or even vaccines?

Escherichia coli, or E. coli, is a widely used bacterium in protein engineering due to its simplicity (it is easy to manipulate), low cost and high yield of recombinant proteins. Dr. Sabine Stebel, who completed her PhD in protein engineering, said in a presentation to Doctors for Covid Ethics that directed protein evolution, which uses E. coli in the process, has been common practice since the 1990s.

E. coli has been used to produce human proteins (such as insulin, interferon and growth hormone), enzymes (such as lactase and amylase for industrial applications) and antibodies (such as monoclonal antibodies for therapeutic applications).

Mammalian cell lines are now commonly used for glycosylated protein production (where a carbohydrate is attached to a protein) but E. coli remains the organism of choice for expressing heterologous proteins in therapeutic applications.  Heterologous proteins are proteins that are produced in a cell or organism that is not their natural host.

Approximately 30% of all approved therapeutic proteins are produced in E. coli, according to a 2018 mini-review published in FEMS Microbiology Letters.  The abstract stated:

Since the emergence of the biopharmaceutical industry in the 1980s, Escherichia coli has played an important role in the industrial production of recombinant proteins and plasmid DNA for therapeutic use. Currently, advanced biopharmaceutical products, including rationally designed recombinant proteins and viral-vector gene therapies, offer unprecedented promise for the long-term management, and even cure of disease. As such, E. coli remains an important production host for the biopharmaceutical industry.

E. coli strain engineering for the production of advanced biopharmaceutical products, FEMS Microbiology Letters, Oxford Academic, August 2018

In his 1977 book ‘Paper Doctors’, Dr. Vernon Coleman warned of the dangers of genetic engineering using E. coli.  He wrote:

Research workers have already learnt how to transfer antibiotic resistance from one bacterium to another … Unfortunately, the manufacture of resistant organisms is potentially very dangerous for it would theoretically be possible for resistant organisms to get out of the laboratory and into the community. These organisms could then cause infections in innocent people and doctors would be unable to treat the infections because the organisms responsible were resistant to available drugs.

There are other dangers involved. It is, for example, particularly dangerous to experiment with a bacterium such as E. coli, a common inhabitant of the human gastrointestinal tract, because if by accident a lethal version of E. coli got out of the laboratory, it would be able to kill off millions of people quite easily.

Genetic Research is Too Dangerous and Should be Stopped, The Exposé, 19 March 2024

It’s not only laboratory accidents or leaks we should consider as a culprit of the recent E. coli outbreak.  E. coli is present in some routine vaccines. 

E. coli has been engineered to be used as a platform for producing vaccine antigens because of its ability to express foreign proteins and its ease of cultivation makes it an attractive choice for vaccine development.

Scientists have modified E. coli to produce virus-like particles (“VLPs”) that can be used as vaccine delivery systems.  E. coli-derived VLPs have been used for vaccines against various diseases in humans and animals. 

In the UK, there appears to be only one E. coli-derived VLP vaccine for humans: Hecolin, the first licensed E. coli-derived vaccine, for the prevention of hepatitis E virus (“HEV”).

The following table is taken from a 2017 paper published in the journal Vaccines titled ‘Escherichia coli-derived virus-like particles in vaccine development’ which shows a list of vaccines that had been developed or were being developed using E. coli at that time.

In addition to using engineered E. coli as a vaccine delivery system.  There are also vaccines to prevent E. coli which contain engineered E. coli.

Poulvac E. coli is a vaccine used in chickens and turkeys for active immunisation against an infection caused by E. coli serotype O78, also known as colibacillosis. It contains the live bacteria E. coli, type O78, strain EC34195 with a gene (aroA) deleted.  This vaccine is widely used in the UK.

In 2012, the UK approved a Canadian vaccine, Econiche, designed to reduce E. coli O157:H7 shedding in cattle, manufactured by Bioniche Life Sciences. The idea being that if the cows weren’t pooping it, then it wouldn’t spread to humans. 

We were unable to find information about the ingredients or components of Econiche but a 2006 press release published by BioSpace gives a tantalising clue that it contains engineered E. coli:

The key discovery to making this vaccine a reality was made by Dr. Brett Finlay at the University of British Columbia, when he deciphered the mechanisms by which E. coli attaches to and infects animals. Using this knowledge, it was possible to target the specific proteins of the bacterium for use in the vaccine. [Emphasis added]

Press Release: Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. E. Coli O157:H7 Cattle Vaccine Authorised For Field Use In Canada, BioSpace, 26 December 2006

“To target specific proteins” sounds as if it is something along the lines of protein engineering, , gain-of-function or loss-of-function.

In 2012, the UK gave Econiche – which contains engineered or modified E. coli – Special Treatment Certificate authorisation, allowing veterinary surgeons to use the vaccine on visitor open farms – farms which the public visits. 

One could argue that the E. coli in Econiche were engineered so they could not cause disease, similar to the idea of an attenuated virus being used in virus vaccines.  But, as with other microorganisms and viruses, could the bacterium change from its engineered version and even revert to its natural state?

Writing about the contamination of polio vaccines, Medical Veritas said:

Polio viruses for the production of polio vaccines have been cultured on monkey kidney tissue and cell lines. These are naturally infected by monkey (simian) viruses and other microorganisms and agents (protozoans, amoebas). They cause, and/or are a co-factor in, a variety of cancers and other diseases. The methods used to “clean up” the animal tissue and/or microorganisms of these undesirable contaminants are incomplete and reversible.

Within a number of hours (usually 40) most of the microorganisms are inactivated (about 75%) with formaldehyde, but afterwards there is a viable residue of live organisms capable of multiplying and spreading indefinitely. When such inadequately treated vaccines are introduced into populations, even those organisms that were inactivated, may revert to their original virulence. Most of them are carcinogenic (cancer-causing) and cytopathogenic (tissue-destructive).

Read more: Polio vaccines introduced RSV into populations and now Pfizer’s RSV vaccines carry health risks

There are no licenced E. coli vaccines (to prevent E. coli) for use in humans in the UK. However, researchers are actively exploring their development.

In June 2022, the UK’s National Institute for Health Research (“NIHR’s”) Patient Recruitment Centre in Leicester launched a phase three trial of the “first vaccine to prevent common bacterial infections.”  The trial was to “test the effectiveness and safety of a new, single injection [E. Coli] vaccine which is being developed by Janssen.”

Common infections, such as urinary tract infections (“UTI”), are caused by the bacteria E. coli.  So, the trial was looking for adults aged 60 years and older with a history of UTI. 

Justifying the need for an E. coli vaccine Martin Wiselka, Professor of Infectious Disease at Leicester’s Hospitals and Principal Investigator for the UK trial, explained:

Some people suffer greatly from repeated urinary tract infections, which can be serious and life-threatening if the infection causes sepsis. Increasingly E. coli strains are developing antibiotic resistance, meaning the infection they cause can’t be treated by the antibiotic medicines usually prescribed by doctors. [Emphasis added]

Press release: Leicester research team trial first vaccine to prevent common bacterial infections, University Hospitals of Leicester, 27 June 2022

The trial is designed to evaluate the efficacy of the 9-valent extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli vaccine (ExPEC9V) compared to a placebo.  The ExPEC9V vaccine uses sugars that are part of the casing around the E. coli bacteria, which are bound to a protein coming from another bacteria – Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa – a multidrug-resistant pathogen, meaning it can develop resistance to multiple antibiotics – is capable of causing a variety of infections in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised hosts including:

• Urinary tract infections
• Gastrointestinal infections
• Skin and soft tissue infections
• Pneumonia
• Septic shock

The first two in the list above are the very infections the 9-valent E. coli vaccine is aiming to prevent. However, we are being reassured that neither of the bacteria in the vaccines can cause disease. 

“The ExPEC9V vaccine contains clean and harmless sugars and proteins, but not the bacteria themselves. It cannot cause E. coli or P. aeruginosa infections,” Stuart Cohen, chief of Infectious Diseases at the University of California Davis Health and the principal investigator of the study, explained.

Could a chimeric organism, a man-made combination of E.coli and P. aeruginosa cause disease?  Cohen doesn’t say.

After all the “rigorous” trials for the “safe and effective” covid “vaccines,” do you trust these novel bacteria “vaccines” and the people who develop and promote them?

It was expected that approximately 18,556 study participants would be recruited worldwide, of which between approximately 2,500-3,000 were expected to be recruited in the UK. Participants will be in the study for about three years after receiving the study vaccine, according to the UK trial’s press release.

Returning to the current E. coli outbreak: Yesterday, UKHSA quoted Darren Whitby, Head of Incidents at the Food Standards Agency, as saying: “Although we are confident in the likely source of the [E. coli] outbreak being linked to lettuce, work continues to confirm this and identify the root cause of the outbreak with the growers, suppliers and manufacturers so that actions can be taken to prevent a re-occurrence.”

UKHSA didn’t give the location of the outbreak, it merely gave the number of “confirmed” E. coli cases in each of the four nations:

• 182 in England
• 58 in Scotland
• 31 in Wales
• 4 in Northern Ireland (evidence suggests that they acquired their infection in England)

It would be interesting to know if there are any cases in Leicester.