Alternatives to antibiotics: utilization of bacteriophage to treat colibacillosis and prevent foodborne pathogens

Alternatives to antibiotics: utilization of bacteriophage to treat colibacillosis and prevent foodborne pathogens.

Bacteriophages are viruses that infect and kill bacteria. Bacteriophage do not infect animal and plant cells, which makes them a potentially safe alternative to antibiotics. We have been conducting research on the efficacy of bacteriophage to prevent and treat colibacillosis in poultry. Bacteriophages that were lytic to a non-motile, serotype 02 isolate of Escherichia coli were isolated from mu...

Therapeutic efficacy of bacteriophage and Baytril (enrofloxacin) individually and in combination to treat colibacillosis in broilers.

A study was conducted to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of bacteriophage and the antibiotic enrofloxacin individually and in combination to treat colibacillosis. The experimental design was a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial with 8 treatments and 4 replicate pens of 10 birds. The treatments were 1) control, 2) unchallenged birds treated with bacteriophage, 3) enrofloxacin, or 4) the combination; 5) birds...

Co-Selection of Resistance to Antibiotics, Biocides and Heavy Metals, and Its Relevance to Foodborne Pathogens.

Concerns have been raised in recent years regarding co-selection for antibiotic resistance among bacteria exposed to biocides used as disinfectants, antiseptics and preservatives, and to heavy metals (particularly copper and zinc) used as growth promoters and therapeutic agents for some livestock species. There is indeed experimental and observational evidence that exposure to these non-antibio...

Bacteriophage for biocontrol of foodborne pathogens: calculations and considerations.

The use of phage or phage products in food production has recently become an option for the food industry as a novel method for biocontrol of unwanted pathogens, enhancing the safety of especially fresh and ready-to-eat food products. While it can be expected that many more phage products currently under development might become available in the future, several questions may be raised concernin...

bacteriocins as the alternatives to antibiotics