La primera planta de bacteriófagos en Colombia
Artículo: Periódico El Espectador
Fecha publicación: 10 mayo del 2023
Hecho por: María Paula Lizarazo
SCIPHAGE empresa innovadora en el sector ganadero
By Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Prepared by: Carolyn Opio and Pamela Sangoluisa
Year: 2021
Natural Killers: Opportunities and Challenges for the Use of Bacteriophages in Microbial Food Safety from the One Health Perspective
By Maria Lavilla, Pilar Domingo Calap, Sandra Sevilla Navarro and Amaia Lasagabaster
Published: 26 January 2023
Abstract:
Ingestion of food or water contaminated with pathogenic bacteria may cause serious diseases. The One Health approach may help to ensure food safety by anticipating, preventing, detecting, and controlling diseases that spread between animals, humans, and the environment. This concept pays special attention to the increasing spread and dissemination of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which are considered one of the most important environment-related human and animal health hazards. In this context, the development of innovative, versatile, and effective alternatives to control bacterial infections in order to assure comprehensive food microbial safety is becoming an urgent issue. Bacteriophages (phages), viruses of bacteria, have gained significance in the last years due to the request for new effective antimicrobials for the treatment of bacterial diseases, along with many other applications, including biotechnology and food safety. This manuscript reviews the application of phages in order to prevent food- and water-borne diseases from a One Health perspective. Regarding the necessary decrease in the use of antibiotics, results taken from the literature indicate that phages are also promising tools to help to address this issue. To assist future phage-based real applications, the pending issues and main challenges to be addressed shortly by future studies are also taken into account.
Current Clinical Landscape and Global Potential of Bacteriophage Therapy
By Nicole Marie Hitchcock, Danielle Devequi Gomes Nunes, Job Shiach, Katharine Valeria Saraiva Hodel, Josiane Dantas Viana Barbosa, Leticia Alencar Pereira Rodrigues, Brahm Seymour Coler, Milena Botelho Pereira Soares and Roberto Badaró
Published: 21 April 2023
Abstract:
In response to the global spread of antimicrobial resistance, there is an increased demand for novel and innovative antimicrobials. Bacteriophages have been known for their potential clinical utility in lysing bacteria for almost a century. Social pressures and the concomitant introduction of antibiotics in the mid-1900s hindered the widespread adoption of these naturally occurring bactericides. Recently, however, phage therapy has re-emerged as a promising strategy for combatting antimicrobial resistance. A unique mechanism of action and cost-effective production promotes phages as an ideal solution for addressing antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, particularly in lower- and middle-income countries. As the number of phage-related research labs worldwide continues to grow, it will be increasingly important to encourage the expansion of well-developed clinical trials, the standardization of the production and storage of phage cocktails, and the advancement of international collaboration. In this review, we discuss the history, benefits, and limitations of bacteriophage research and its current role in the setting of addressing antimicrobial resistance with a specific focus on active clinical trials and case reports of phage therapy administration.
The gastrointestinal microbiome and it’s association with the control of pathogens in broiler chicken production: A review
By Viviana Clavijo and Martha Josefina Vives Flórez
Available online: 11 December 2019
Abstract:
The microbiome of the broiler chicken gastrointestinal tract (GIT) has been extensively studied, and it has been amply demonstrated that it plays an important role in the health of the host, as it has a positive impact on the immune system, the physiology of the GIT, and productivity. Also, the microbiota is involved in reducing and preventing colonization by enteric pathogens through the process of competitive exclusion and the production of bacteriostatic and bactericidal substances. The taxonomic composition of the microbiota is affected by different factors, such as the organ, the age of the animal, diet and the use of antimicrobials.
Different kinds of additives that regulate the microbial community in feed include probiotics (live microorganisms that when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host), prebiotics (ingredients that stimulate increased beneficial microbial activity in the digestive system in order to improve the health of the host) and phytobiotics (primary or secondary components of plants that contain bioactive compounds that exert a positive effect on the growth and health of animals). Phages may potentially provide an integrated solution to modulate the intestinal microbiome of chicken intestines, as they reduce specific pathogenic microbial populations, permitting the proliferation of beneficial microbiota. Studies have shown that the use of cocktails of phages, especially in high concentrations and with short lapses of time between exposure to the bacteria and treatment with phages, optimize the reduction of Salmonella in chickens. Each of these technologies has demonstrable positive effects on the health of the host and the reduction of the pathogen load in controlled assays.
This paper presents a comprehensive summary of the role of the microbiota in the broiler chicken gastrointestinal tract, and discusses the usefulness of different strategies for its modulation to control pathogens, with a particular emphasis on bacteriophages.
Fagoterapia, alternativa para el control de las infecciones bacterianas, perspectivas en Colombia
By Catalina Prada Peñaranda, Angela Victoria Holguin Moreno, Andres Fernando González Barrios and Martha Josefina Vives Florez
Published: 14 August 2014
Abstract:
Bacteria easily acquire resistance to antimicrobial agents; this reduces the number of effective antibiotics available to treat bacterial infections. Food contamination by bacteria also generates important economic losses and health risks. Products for human consumption must be free of antibiotics used in clinical treatments, and the control of bacteria with antimicrobials is strictly regulated; however, there is a lack of development of new antibiotics. As a result, the development of new antimicrobial strategies is vital. Viruses that infect bacteria called bacteriophages (phages) have been proposed as an alternative treatment in an approach known as phage-therapy. Several studies have evaluated and demonstrated their effectiveness against pathogenic bacteria; currently, there are private companies dedicated to the development of new products based on phage cocktails, to control some bacterial infections. In Colombia, there is no previous information about the use of phages, but phage-therapy represents a great opportunity to use the diversity of the native microbiota. In this review, we present the perspectives for phage-therapy in Colombia as a treatment against bacterial infections.
Phages in Anaerobic Systems
By Santiago Hernandez and Martha J. Vives
Published: 26 September 2020
Abstract:
Since the discovery of phages in 1915, these viruses have been studied mostly in aerobic systems, or without considering the availability of oxygen as a variable that may affect the interaction between the virus and its host. However, with such great abundance of anaerobic environments on the planet, the effect that a lack of oxygen can have on the phage-bacteria relationship is an important consideration. There are few studies on obligate anaerobes that investigate the role of anoxia in causing infection. In the case of facultative anaerobes, it is a well-known fact that their shifting from an aerobic environment to an anaerobic one involves metabolic changes in the bacteria. As the phage infection process depends on the metabolic state of the host bacteria, these changes are also expected to affect the phage infection cycle. This review summarizes the available information on phages active on facultative and obligate anaerobes and discusses how anaerobiosis can be an important parameter in phage infection, especially among facultative anaerobes.