title: Phage-based detection of bacterial pathogens.
abstract: Bacterial pathogens cause significant morbidity and mortality annually to both humans and animals. With the rampant spread of drug resistance and the diminishing effectiveness of current antibiotics, there is a pressing need for effective diagnostics for detection of bacterial pathogens and their drug resistances. Bacteriophages offer several unique opportunities for bacterial detection. This review highlights the means by which bacteriophages have been utilized to achieve and facilitate specific bacterial detection.
authors.affiliation: DST/NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research/MRC Centre for Molecular and Cellular Biology, Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa. rubengvdm@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: van der Merwe
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: van Helden
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Warren
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Sampson
authors.forename: N C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Gey van Pittius
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000502:physiology*; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial