Evaluation of lytic activity of commercial bacteriophage preparations against Klebsiella pneumoniae associated bronchopneumonia of cattle

Abstract

As the number of reports of antimicrobial resistance among various bacterial pathogens is increasing, there has been a revitalisation of research aimed at improving therapeutic measures associated with phage therapy. However, the fact that data on the effective use of phage-containing preparations are limited is of considerable concern, which, in turn, significantly hampers the active introduction of this alternative to antibiotics in the complex of anti-epizootic measures. In this regard, the aim of the study is to analyses the effectiveness of liquid commercial preparations of bacteriophages in assessing the lytic activity against Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from calves with signs of bronchopneumonia, in vitro. Determination of phage particles was carried out by the conventional Gratia method (agar layers). The lytic activity of bacteriophages was evaluated by «spot-test» method. The analysis of our results demonstrates the possibility of potential application of commercial phage -containing preparations as part of the scheme of therapeutic measures in infectious bronchopneumonia of farm animals. Klebsiella pneumoniae strains isolated from nasopharyngeal mucus of calves showed sensitivity to bacteriophages included in commercial biopreparations used in the study. As the problem of growing antibiotic resistance among microorganisms is increasing, phage therapy becomes an attractive alternative.