title: Prophylactic Bacteriophage Administration More Effective than Post-infection Administration in Reducing Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis Shedding in Quail.
abstract: Infections caused by Salmonella bacteria, often through poultry products, are a serious public health issue. Because of drawbacks associated with antibiotic prophylaxis, alternative treatments are sought. Bacterial viruses (bacteriophages) may provide an effective alternative, but concerns remain with respect to bacteriophage stability and effectiveness. To this end, we assessed the stability of a novel bacteriophage isolated from poultry excreta, siphovirus PSE, and its effectiveness in reducing Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis colonization in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, we sought to determine how the timing (prophylactic or therapeutic) and route (oral gavage or vent lip) of PSE administration impacted its effectiveness. Here we report that significant quantities of viable PSE bacteriophages were recovered following exposure to high and low pH, high temperatures, and bile salts, testifying to its ability to survive extreme conditions. In addition, we found that ileal lactic acid bacteria and Streptococcus spp. counts increased, but colibacilli and total aerobe counts decreased, in quail receiving phage PSE through both oral gavage and vent lip routes. In other experiments, we assessed the efficiency of PSE administration, in both prophylactic and therapeutic contexts, via either oral gavage or vent lip administration, on S. Enteritidis colonization of quail cecal tonsils. Our results demonstrate that administration of PSE as a preventive agent could reduce the S. Enteritidis colonization more effectively than post-challenge administration. Furthermore, oral administration of PSE phage is a more effective prophylactic tool for reduction of S. Enteritidis shedding in poultry than is vent lip administration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Poultry Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mosab
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ahmadi
authors.affiliation: Department of Poultry Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: M Amir
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Karimi Torshizi
authors.affiliation: Department of Poultry Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Shaban
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rahimi
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, Queens College and The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York NY, USA.
authors.forename: John J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Dennehy
keywords: Salmonella Enteritidis; microflora population; phage administration method; phage therapy; prophylactic agent