Controlling the bacterial load of Salmonella Typhi in an experimental mouse model by a lytic Salmonella phage STWB21: a phage therapy approach

Abstract

Background Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi is one of the major pathogens causing typhoid fever and a public health burden worldwide. Recently, the increasing number of multidrug-resistant strains of Salmonella spp. has made this utmost necessary to consider bacteriophages as a potential alternative to antibiotics for S. Typhi infection treatment. Salmonella phage STWB21, isolated from environmental water, has earlier been reported to be effective as a safe biocontrol agent by our group. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of phage STWB21 in reducing the burden of salmonellosis in a mammalian host by inhibiting Salmonella Typhi invasion into the liver and spleen tissue. Results Phage treatment significantly improved the survival percentage of infected mice. This study also demonstrated that oral administration of phage treatment could be beneficial in both preventive and therapeutic treatment of salmonellosis caused by S. Typhi. Altogether the result showed that the phage treatment could control tissue inflammation in mice before and after Salmonella infection. Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of phage therapy in a mouse model against a clinically isolated Salmonella Typhi strain that includes direct visualization of histopathology and ultrathin section microscopy images from the liver and spleen sections.

Phage P2-71 against multi-drug resistant Proteus mirabilis: isolation, characterization, and non-antibiotic antimicrobial potential

“…The purification and storage of phage P2-71 were modified based on the method described by Mondal et al ( Mondal et al., 2023 ), starting with the mixture of the P. mirabilis 37 logarithmic-phase culture with phage P2-71 at an MOI of 0.1, followed by the addition of 2 ml of LB medium. This mixture was then incubated overnight at 37°C with constant shaking at 220 rpm.…”