A bacteria-munching virus which is harmless to humans and animals could be vital in helping target disease prevention in pigs more effectively.
Scientists at the University of Leicester are developing “friendly viruses” known as phages to help treat illnesses such as salmonella.
It is hoped the treatment – known as phage therapy – will help cut down the use of antibiotics in the livestock industry and address concerns over increasing antibiotic resistance.
First discovered a century ago and long used in eastern Europe instead of antibiotics, scientists have become interested in phages once again due to the way they attack bacteria.
Rather than simply destroying both good and bad bacteria, the naturally occurring phages target the specific bacteria of certain illnesses. Once their DNA is injected into a bacterial cell, the phages replicate until they eventually kill their hosts.
Martha Clokie, who is leading a Bpex-funded study into how phages could help tackle salmonella in pigs, said phages offered a vital alternative to antibiotics, particularly in the face of growing antibiotic resistance.
“Antibiotic resistance has evolved over thousands of years, but by using antibiotics indiscriminately we have exacerbated it,” she told delegates at the Bpex innovation conference at Stoneleigh Park.
While resistance was growing rapidly, fewer antibiotics were being developed by pharmaceutical companies – mainly due to economic viability – making alternative treatments vital, she said.
Phages were useful for several reasons, partly because they have the ability to attack bacteria in a way that means they can treat more complex diseases than antibiotics, but also because they were selective in what they attacked.
“Antibiotics wipe out all the bacteria – both good and bad,” she said. “So if you a treat a pig for one thing, you cause an imbalance in the pig’s useful bacteria. Phages can target one, making it a more effective treatment.”
As part of the Bpex study, Professor Clokie and her team will carry out tests on pig units to identify which strains of salmonella exist.
They will then examine which of the phages occurring naturally in a pig’s body are capable of attacking those salmonella-causing bacteria, which could lead to them developing a treatment in future.