Assessment of bacteriophage cocktails used in treating multiple-drug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The occurrence of multiple drug resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains are increasing worldwide and limiting our therapeutic options. It is a major health concern due to increased antibiotic resistance (Strateva and Yordanov, 2009). More to the problem, MDR Pseudomonas aeruginosa often establishes itself in already compromised patients, such as those with cystic fibrosis or in hospitalized patients at intensive care units, resulting in lifethreatening infections (Folkesson et al., 2012). In the Middle East, war-associated injuries commonly become infected and antimicrobial drug resistant bacteria are well-described in these injuries including MDR Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Franka et al., 2012). Accordingly, there is now a growing interest in the use of bacteriophage (phage) therapy for the control and treatment of multidrug-resistant bacterial infections (Knezevic and Petrovic, 2008). Bacteriophages are viruses that infect and rapidly destroy bacteria. The name was formed from bacteria and phagein (to ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 3 Number 11 (2014) pp. 711-722 http://www.ijcmas.com