Efficacy of cocktail phage therapy in treating Vibrio cholerae infection in rabbit model

Ability of a cocktail of five lytic vibriophages to combatting Vibrio cholerae O1 infection in rabbit model was examined. In one group, rabbits were administered 1 × 10(8) plaque forming unit of phage cocktail 6 and 12 h prior to the administration of V. cholerae O1, while in the other group, same procedure was applied 6 and 12 h post infection. It was observed that oral administration of the phage cocktail after oral bacterial challenge lowered the shedding of bacteria significantly (p < 0.01). In contrast phage treatment prior to bacterial challenge had no such effect (p > 0.05). Results suggest that oral administration of phage subsequent to V. cholerae challenge could provide a possible means of combatting V. cholerae infection.