Efficacy of Three Kayviruses Against Staphylococcus aureus Strains Isolated from COVID-19 Patients

Background/Objectives: The viral pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has affected millions of people. However, it was noticed that high mortality was often a result of bacterial co-infections. One of the main pathogens responsible for secondary infections in patients with viral respiratory tract infections, including COVID-19, is Staphylococcus aureus. In recent years, the number of infections caused by drug-resistant strains of S. aureus has been growing rapidly, often exceeding the number of infections caused by antibiotic-sensitive strains. In addition, biofilm-related infections are more difficult to treat due to the lower sensitivity of biofilm structure to antibiotics. Bacteriophages are seen as alternative treatment of bacterial infections. Therefore, in our work, we have analyzed the efficacy of three Kayviruses against S. aureus strains isolated from COVID-19 patients. Methods: We analyzed the ability of tested phages to remove S. aureus biofilm both from polystyrene plates as well as from the surface of pulmonary epithelial cells. Results: We have observed that tested Kayviruses had a broad host range. Furthermore, phages were able to effectively reduce biofilm biomass and number of viable cells in pure culture. During our research, none of the tested phages was shown to have a negative effect on cell viability and were able to inhibit the negative effect S. aureus had on cell condition. Conclusions: Our results show tested phages were effective in reducing the biofilm of S. aureus strains isolated from COVID-19 patients, had no adverse effect on lung epithelial cell viability. Therefore, it should be recognized that the properties of three studied Kayviruses give them an advantage in the selection of phages for treatment of staphylococcal infections.