Reviving Phage Therapy for the Treatment of Cholera

Bhandare, Sudhakar; Colom, Joan; Baig, Abiyad; Ritchie, Jenny M.; Bokhari, Habib; Shah, Muhammad A.; Sarkar, B.L.; Su, Jingliang; Wren, Brendan; Barrow, Paul; Atterbury, Robert J

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 prophylactically and therapeutically to control cholera 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 CFU/g. There was evidence of phage multiplication only in animals which 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.

Citation

Bhandare, S., Colom, J., Baig, A., Ritchie, J. M., Bokhari, H., Shah, M. A., …Atterbury, R. J. (2019). Reviving Phage Therapy for the Treatment of Cholera. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 219(5), 786-794. https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiy563

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 17, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Nov 3, 2018
• Publication Date: Feb 15, 2019
• Deposit Date: Oct 15, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 4, 2019
• Journal: The Journal of Infectious Diseases
• Print ISSN: 0022-1899
• Electronic ISSN: 1537-6613
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 219
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 786-794
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiy563
• Keywords: Infectious Diseases; Immunology and Allergy
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1165323
• Publisher URL: https://academic.oup.com/jid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/infdis/jiy563/5159459