Validating the efficacy and safety of phages prior to clinical application is crucial to see phage therapy in practice. Current animal models include mice and insect larvae, which pose ethical or technical challenges.

Background Antibiotic resistance among pathogenic bacteria has created a global emergency, prompting the hunt for an alternative cure. Bacteriophages were discovered over a century ago and have proven to be a successful replacement during antibiotic treatment failure. This review discusses on the scientific investigation of phage therapy for Gram-positive pathogens and general outlook of phage therapy clinical trials and commercialization. Main body of the abstract This review aimed to highlight the phage therapy in Gram-positive bacteria and the need for phage therapy in the future. Phage therapy to treat Gram-positive bacterial infections is in use for a very long time. However, limited review on the phage efficacy in Gram-positive bacteria exists. The natural efficiency and potency of bacteriophages against bacterial strains have been advantageous amidst the other non-antibiotic agents. The use of phages to treat oral biofilm, skin infection, and recurrent infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria has emerged as a predominant research area in recent years. In addition, the upsurge in research in the area of phage therapy for spore-forming Gram-positive bacteria has added a wealth of information to phage therapy. Short conclusion We conclude that the need of phage as an alternative treatment is obvious in future. However, phage therapy can be used as reserve treatment. This review focuses on the potential use of phage therapy in treating Gram-positive bacterial infections, as well as their therapeutic aspects. Furthermore, we discussed the difficulties in commercializing phage drugs and their problems as a breakthrough medicine.

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AbstractBackgroundStaphylococcus aureus is one of the common opportunistic gram-positive pathogens which are often associated with nosocomial infections. Detection of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) has become complicated due to the complex phenotypic and genomic pattern.ObjectiveTo evaluate the sensitivity and specificity pattern of various phenotypic methods used in screening mec genes harboring MRSA.MethodsClinical isolates of S. aureus were collected from diagnostic centers in Tamil Nadu. Phenotypic identification methods such as Minimal Inhibitory Concentration for oxacillin, oxacillin screen agar (OSA), oxacillin disk diffusion, and cefoxitin disk diffusion (CFD) tests were compared. The clinical isolates were classified into MRSA and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the mecA gene.ResultOut of 50 S. aureus, 21 were found to be MRSA based on the presence of the mecA gene. All 21 mecA-positive isolates were found to be resistant through minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and CFD test, having a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 52% and 62%, respectively. OSA and oxacillin disk tests were found to have a sensitivity of 86% and specificity of 48% and 52%, respectively.ConclusionThe combination of two phenotypic methods, CFD and oxacillin MIC, can be used for the detection of MRSA in clinical laboratories.

The influence of media composition on the life cycle of bacteriophages to exhibit diverse plaque morphology on various bacteriological media was investigated by a double agar overlay method. Both Staphylococcus aureus phage and Vibrio parahaemolyticus phage showed altered plaque morphology from small to large and from clear to turbid, in different culture media used for the double agar overlay method.