E coli contamination (usually from O157:H7) is the major source of beef recalls. New vaccines that have just been approved for use in the US market are designed to reduce e coli outbreaks. According to preliminary studies, use of the new vaccines will reduce the number of animals carrying the e coli bacteria by 65 to 75%. Use of the vaccines is also predicted to reduce the number of supershedders, i.e. those cows that carry particularly high levels of e coli in their digestive tracks.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/04/business/04vaccine.html?hp