Reviving Phage Therapy for the Treatment of Cholera. (3rd November 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bhandare, Sudhakar; Colom, Joan; Baig, Abiyad; Ritchie, Jenny M; Bukhari, Habib; Shah, Muhammad A; Sarkar, Banwarilal L; Su, Jingliang; Wren, Brendan; Barrow, Paul; Atterbury, Robert J
• Is Part Of: Journal of infectious diseases. Volume 219:Number 5(2019)
• Page Start: 786
• Page End: 794
• Publication Date: 2018-11-03
• Subjects: bacteriophage therapy -- cholera -- phage -- infant rabbit -- prophylaxis -- Vibrio cholera; Communicable diseases -- Periodicals; Diseases -- Causes and theories of causation -- Periodicals; Medicine -- Periodicals; Communicable Diseases -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 616.9
• DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiy563
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-1899

Abstract

Abstract: Cholera remains a major risk in developing countries, particularly after natural or man-made disasters. Vibrio cholerae El Tor is the most important cause of these outbreaks, and is becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, so alternative therapies are urgently needed. In this study, a single bacteriophage, Phi_1, was used to control cholera prophylactically and therapeutically in an infant rabbit model. In both cases, phage-treated animals showed no clinical signs of disease, compared with 69% of untreated control animals. Bacterial counts in the intestines of phage-treated animals were reduced by up to 4 log10 colony-forming units/g. There was evidence of phage multiplication only in animals that received a V. cholerae challenge. No phage-resistant bacterial mutants were isolated from the animals, despite extensive searching. This is the first evidence that a single phage could be effective in the treatment of cholera, without detectable levels of resistance. Clinical trials in human patients should be considered.