Efficiency of Single Phage Suspensions and Phage Cocktail in the Inactivation of <i>Escherichia coli</i> and <i>Salmonella</i> Typhimurium: An <i>In Vitro</i> Preliminary Study

• Main Authors: Pedro Costa, Carla Pereira, Ana T. P. C. Gomes, Adelaide Almeida
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-03-01
• Series: Microorganisms
• Subjects: bacterial-phage inactivation; phage cocktail; <i>Escherichia coli</i>; <i>S.</i> Typhimurium
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/7/4/94

Enterobacteriaceae <i>Escherichia coli</i> and <i>Salmonella enterica</i> serovar Typhimurium strains are among the main pathogens responsible for moderate and serious infections at hospital and community environments, in part because they frequently present resistance to antibiotics. As the treatment of Enterobacteriaceae infections is empiric, using the same antibiotics to treat <i>E. coli</i> and <i>Salmonella</i> infections, the same concept can be applied with phages. The use of different phages combined in cocktails, frequently used to circumvent the development of phage-resistant mutants, also allows for the treatment of multiple pathogens, broadening the phages&#8217; action spectrum. As such, the aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of a cocktail of two phages (ELY-1, produced on <i>E. coli</i> and phSE-5, produced on <i>S.</i> Typhimurium) to control <i>E. coli</i> and <i>S.</i> Typhimurium. Phages ELY-1 and phSE-5 were effective against <i>E. coli</i> (maximum reductions of 4.5 and 3.8 log CFU/mL, respectively), <i>S.</i> Typhimurium (maximum reductions of 2.2 and 2.6 log CFU/mL, respectively), and the mixture of both bacteria (maximum reductions of 2.2 and 2.0 log CFU/mL, respectively). The cocktail ELY-1/phSE-5 was more effective against <i>S.</i> Typhimurium and the mixture of both bacteria (maximum reduction of 3.2 log CFU/mL for both) than the single phage suspensions and as effective against <i>E. coli</i> as its specific phage ELY-1 (maximum reductions of 4.5 log CFU/mL). The use of both the phage cocktails, as well as the single-phage suspensions, however, did not prevent the occurrence of phage-resistant mutants. Overall, the results indicate that the application of the phages in the form of a cocktail show their potential to be used presumptively, that is, prior to the identification of the pathogens, paving its use to control <i>E. coli</i> or <i>S.</i> Typhimurium.