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A New Phage Cocktail Against Multidrug, ESBL-Producer Isolates of Shigella sonnei and Shigella flexneri with Highly

Khashayar Shahin1,2, Majid Bouzari1, Majid Komijani3

  • 1Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

Microbial Drug Resistance (Larchmont, N.Y.)
|February 8, 2020
PubMed

Insights

This study explored bacteriophages as alternatives to antibiotics against drug-resistant Shigella. A phage cocktail effectively inhibited over 85% of multidrug-resistant Shigella sonnei and Shigella flexneri isolates, showing potential for controlling infections.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Infectious Diseases

Background:

  • Antibiotic resistance in pathogenic microorganisms like Shigella is a growing global health concern.
  • Developing novel alternatives to conventional antibiotics is crucial for combating multidrug-resistant infections.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the antibiotic resistance patterns and molecular characteristics of multidrug-resistant Shigella isolates.
  • To evaluate the efficacy of specific bacteriophages and a phage cocktail against Shigella sonnei and Shigella flexneri.

Main Methods:

  • Characterization of 70 multidrug-resistant Shigella isolates (44 S. sonnei, 26 S. flexneri) for antibiotic resistance and extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) production.
  • Assessment of the specificity and activity of individual bacteriophages (vB_SflS-ISF001, vB_SsoS-ISF002) and a combined phage cocktail.
  • Detection of resistance genes and evaluation of bacteriophage efficiency of plating (EOP) and growth inhibition.

Main Results:

  • Twelve out of 21 tested resistance genes were detected. Approximately 59% of S. sonnei and 46% of S. flexneri isolates were ESBL producers.
  • Bacteriophages demonstrated high efficiency of plating (EOP ≥0.5) against approximately 75% of isolates.
  • The phage cocktail inhibited the growth of over 85% of isolates, including both ESBL-positive and -negative strains of S. sonnei and S. flexneri.

Conclusions:

  • A bacteriophage cocktail comprising vB_SflS-ISF001 and vB_SsoS-ISF002 shows significant potential for controlling drug-resistant Shigella.
  • This phage cocktail can be a viable alternative strategy to combat the spread of antibiotic-resistant Shigella in various environments, including food and water systems.
Keywords:
Shigella sppbacteriophagemultidrug resistancephage therapyshigellosis

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