Phages for Africa: The Potential Benefit and Challenges of Phage Therapy for the Livestock Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa

Makumi, Angela; Mhone, Amos Lucky; Odaba, Josiah; Guantai, Linda; Svitek, Nicholas

doi:10.3390/antibiotics10091085

Cited by 13 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 171 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…As a result, in vivo studies, phage safety, efficacy and phage biobanking in the African context remain a priority. 60 Although no single phage manufacturing centre has been established in Africa yet, research groups have been initiated to foster collaboration with Phages for Global Health. 60 This initiative is focused on initially teaching scientists in African countries to isolate and characterise phages.…”

Section: Conclusion and Future Directionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This uncertainty complicates legislation, regulatory processes for bacteriophage therapy and investment. 60 Current regulatory frameworks should support phage research and academic institutions to promote development, be flexible in compassionate use cases and be open to possible alternative pathways for the approval of phage therapy.…”

Section: Conclusion and Future Directionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Establishing regional phage banks across Africa that have already isolated, characterised, sequenced and purified phages could contribute to sustainable and cost-effective phage therapy. 60,63 In addition, inaugurating networks of phage banks across the globe between reference phage laboratories and low-income regions could further help transfer knowledge and lower the cost of bacteriophage therapy.…”

Section: Conclusion and Future Directionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Treating bacterial infections with bacteriophages in the 21st century

Opperman

Wojno

Brink

2022

Southern African Journal of Infectious Diseases

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Bacteriophages (phages) were discovered in the early part of the 20th century, and their ability to eliminate bacterial infections as bacterial viruses gathered interest almost immediately. Bacteriophage therapy was halted in the Western world due to inconclusive results in early experiments and the concurrent discovery of antibiotics. The spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has elicited renewed interest in bacteriophages as a natural alternative to conventional antibiotic therapy. Interest in the application of bacteriophages has also expanded to include the environment, such as wastewater treatment, agriculture and aquaculture. Although the complete phage is important in bacteriophage therapy, the focus is shifting to purified phage enzymes. These enzymes are an attractive option for pharmaceutical companies with their patent potential. They can be bio-engineered for enhanced adjuvant properties, such as a broadened spectrum of activity or binding capability. Enzymes also eliminate the concern that the prophage might integrate resistance genes into the bacterial genome. From a clinical perspective, the first randomised clinical controlled phage therapy trial was conducted with more pioneering phase I/II clinical studies on the horizon. In this opinion paper, the authors outline bacteriophages as naturally occurring bactericidal entities, their therapeutic potential against antibiotic-resistant bacteria and compare them to antibiotics. Their potential multipurpose application in the medical field is also addressed, including the use of bacteriophages for vaccination, and utilisation of the antimicrobial enzymes that they produce.

show abstract

Section: Conclusion and Future Directionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Conclusion and Future Directionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Conclusion and Future Directionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Treating bacterial infections with bacteriophages in the 21st century

Opperman

Wojno

Brink

2022

Southern African Journal of Infectious Diseases

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Several institutes, including the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), are working on developing phage products and cocktails to tackle AMR in Kenya, as demonstrated by the recent Kenyan Phage Symposium held in 2022 [ 29 ]. There is openness to licensing or registering a phage-based product in Kenya; Makumi et al (2021) describe initial discussions with the Veterinary Medicines Board [ 30 ]. In chicken production, phages could not only be used for treatment and prevention but also as a surface cleaner that targets specific bacteria.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender-Responsive Design of Bacteriophage Products to Enhance Adoption by Chicken Keepers in Kenya

Campbell

Njiru

Mhone

et al. 2023

Viruses

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Women and men keeping chickens in Kenya aspire to have a source of income, feed their families healthy food, and grow their businesses. Managing animal diseases and minimizing input costs enable their success. This study uses qualitative methods to recommend design opportunities for a veterinary product under development in Kenya that contains bacteriophages (phages) that target pathogenic Salmonella strains responsible for fowl typhoid, salmonellosis, and pullorum in chickens and foodborne illness in people. Our findings revealed the interplay between gender and two production systems: free-range and semi-intensive. Chicken keepers in both systems could benefit from phages combined with the orally administered Newcastle disease vaccine, one of the most commonly used preventive veterinary interventions, or phages as a treatment for fowl typhoid. Oral administration is less labor intensive, with greater benefits for women who have less control over family labor and reported doing more care tasks themselves. Men in free-range systems usually pay for veterinary inputs. In semi-intensive production systems, a phage-based product used prophylactically could be an alternative to expensive, intramuscular fowl typhoid vaccines. Keeping layers was common for women in semi-intensive systems, as they are more economically impacted by reduced laying caused by bacterial diseases. Awareness of zoonoses was low, but men and women were concerned about the negative health effects of drug residues in meat and eggs. Therefore, highlighting the lack of a withdrawal period for a phage product may appeal to customers. Antibiotics are used to both treat and prevent diseases, and phage products will need to do both to compete in the Kenyan market. These findings guide the ongoing design of a phage-based product with the goal of introducing a new veterinary product that meets the diverse needs of chicken keepers in Africa and serves as an alternative or complement to antibiotics.

show abstract

“… 10 , 11 Unfortunately, bacteriophages employed as cocktail or adjunctive therapy have not been well investigated in the African continent to effectively control MDR bacterial infections. 12 This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic potential of formulated phage cocktails and their interaction with select antibiotics in inhibiting the growth of CP K. pneumonia clinical isolate in vitro in Kenya.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Formulation of phage cocktails and evaluation of their interaction with antibiotics in inhibiting carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in vitro in Kenya

Michodigni

Nyachieo²,

Akhwale³

et al. 2022

Afr. J. Lab. Med.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: The development of alternative control measures, such as phage therapy or adjunctive therapy, is urgently needed to manage the dissemination of carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae.Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic potential of formulated phage cocktails and their interaction with select antibiotics in inhibiting the growth of carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae clinical isolate in vitro in Kenya.Methods: The study was conducted from February 2021 to October 2021 at the Institute of Primate Research, Nairobi, Kenya. Phage cocktails were formulated based on the morphology and biological properties of precipitated Klebsiella phages. The efficacy of individual bacteriophages and phage cocktails as well as their combination with antibiotics were determined for their inhibitory activity on carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae (KP20).Results: The precipitated bacteriophages were members of Myoviridae, Siphoviridae and Podoviridae. Regarding the evaluation of the phage cocktails, the absorbances at 600 nm of the bacterial culture treated with the two-phage cocktail (2φ MA) ranged from 0.173 to 0.246 at 16 h and 20 h whereas it peaked from 2.116 to 2.190 for the positive control. Moreover, the results of the adjunctive therapy showed that the optical density at 600 nm of the bacterial culture treated with 2φ MA was 0.186 at 24 h post-incubation time while it was 0.099 with the bacterial culture treated with imipenem in combination with 2φ MA.Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the two-phage cocktail in combination with imipenem was able to synergistically delay the increase in carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae growth in vitro.

show abstract

Phages for Africa: The Potential Benefit and Challenges of Phage Therapy for the Livestock Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa

Cited by 13 publications

References 171 publications

Treating bacterial infections with bacteriophages in the 21st century

Treating bacterial infections with bacteriophages in the 21st century

Gender-Responsive Design of Bacteriophage Products to Enhance Adoption by Chicken Keepers in Kenya

Formulation of phage cocktails and evaluation of their interaction with antibiotics in inhibiting carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in vitro in Kenya

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About