TITLE:
Bacteriophage Biocontrol Rescues Mice Bacteremic of Clinically Isolated Mastitis from Dairy Cows Associated with Methicillin-Resistant Staphyloccocus aureus
AUTHORS:
Atheer A. Aldoori, Elaph F. Mahdii, Amir K. Abbas, Sabah A. A. Jassim
KEYWORDS:
Bacteriophages, Phage, Biocontrol, Methicillin-Resistant Staphyloccocus aureus, MRSA, Mastitis, Antibiotics
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Microbiology,
Vol.5 No.6,
June
5,
2015
ABSTRACT: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is among the most alarming pathogens affecting
both humans and the global bovine industry. The current control measures in
hospitals and on farms for MRSA have proven to be inadequate leaving a need for
new rapid control methods to curb MRSA infections in situ. New control
measures for bacterial infection are widely sought, with particular interest in
the applications for bacteriophages (phages) as a biocontrol or therapeutic
agent. The current study uses a wild highly lytic phage isolated from cow’s milk taken from three farms in Baghdad, Iraq. The resulting phage
was able to rescue 100% of the mice from a median lethal dose (LD50) or (1 × 108 CFU mL-1 per mouse) for MRSA wild isolates achieved when the phage: bacteria ratio was 100:1. Even when
treatment was delayed for 6 h post lethal infection, to the point where all
mice were moribund, 80% of them were rescued by a single injection of this
phage preparation. Based on the current results, a comprehensive study is
needed to guide further research on the MRSA phage as a biocontrol for MRSA
mastitis in dairy cows to replace or reduce the use of antibiotics in animal
husbandry.