[What happens when the child gets bacteriophage per os?].

The aim of the work was to define the distribution of phages administered per os to children for medical reasons, and the immune response. 102 children aged from 5 days to 15 years with different diseases of bacterial etiology (pneumonia, sepsis, urinary infection, pharyngitis/sinusitis, enteral infection) were monitored. Pyobacteriophage was being included into the complex therapy. The drug was administered per os. In 6/7 of blood, 48/55 urine and 64/75 stool samples taken on the 3-5th day of treatment different components of pyobacteriophage were revealed. The titers varied from 103 to 105 pfu/ml. No age differences were seen. In two weeks after the onset of the phagotherapy the antibodies to phages were tested in the blood serum using the neutralization reaction method. The blood samples were taken from 31 patients. In 14 of them the antibodies neutralizing 52.5-97.3% of the phage activity were seen. A significant age-related peculiarity was determined: in newborns and infants the antibodies were not revealed or their activity was low. Obtained results confirm the reasonability to use of peroral phagotherapy in gastro-intestinal infections. At the same time it was ascertained that the phages taken per os can permeate into the internal environment of the organism and thus the peroral phagotherapy can be used to treat systemic infections and urinary tract infections as well. Absence or low production of the antiphage antibodies in newborns and infants suggests high efficacy of the phagotherapy in this age group.

Bacteriophage therapy for refractory Pseudomonas aeruginosa urinary tract infection.

We describe the success of adjunctive bacteriophage therapy for refractory Pseudomonas aeruginosa urinary tract infection in the context of bilateral ureteric stents and bladder ulceration, after repeated failure of antibiotics alone. No bacteriophage-resistant bacteria arose, and the kinetics of bacteriophage and bacteria in urine suggest self-sustaining and self-limiting infection.

Examination of bacteriophage as a biocontrol method for salmonella on fresh-cut fruit: a model study.

The preparation and distribution of fresh-cut produce is a rapidly developing industry that provides the consumer with convenient and nutritious food. However, fresh-cut fruits and vegetables may represent an increased food safety concern because of the absence or damage of peel and rind, which normally help reduce colonization of uncut produce with pathogenic bacteria. In this study, we found that Salmonella Enteritidis populations can (i) survive on fresh-cut melons and apples stored at 5 degrees C, (ii) increase up to 2 log units on fresh-cut fruits stored at 10 degrees C, and (iii) increase up to 5 log units at 20 degrees C during a storage period of 168 h. In addition, we examined the effect of lytic, Salmonella-specific phages on reducing Salmonella numbers in experimentally contaminated fresh-cut melons and apples stored at various temperatures. We found that the phage mixture reduced Salmonella populations by approximately 3.5 logs on honeydew melon slices stored at 5 and 10 degrees C and by approximately 2.5 logs on slices stored at 20 degrees C, which is greater than the maximal amount achieved using chemical sanitizers. However, the phages did not significantly reduce Salmonella populations on the apple slices at any of the three temperatures. The titer of the phage preparation remained relatively stable on melon slices, whereas on apple slices the titer decreased to nondetectable levels in 48 h at all temperatures tested. Inactivation of phages, possibly by the acidic pH of apple slices (pH 4.2 versus pH 5.8 for melon slices), may have contributed to their inability to reduce Salmonella contamination in the apple slices. Higher phage concentrations and/or the use of low-pH-tolerant phage mutants may be required to increase the efficacy of the phage treatment in reducing Salmonella contamination of fresh-cut produce with a low pH.