Bacteriophages Can Treat and Prevent<i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>Lung Infections

TLDR

Antibiotic‑resistant bacteria pose a global threat, and while new antibiotics are scarce, bacteriophage therapy—though still doubted—offers a potential alternative. The study aimed to assess the efficacy of a bacteriophage against acute lung infection by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a mouse model using a bioluminescent strain. The authors used a bioluminescent Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain to monitor and quantify bacteriophage efficacy in mice with acute lung infection. Bacteriophage therapy both rescued mice from lethal infection and prevented lung infection when administered 24 h pre‑infection, highlighting its therapeutic potential.

Abstract

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria threaten life worldwide. Although new antibiotics are scarce, the use of bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, is rarely proposed as a means of offsetting this shortage. Doubt also remains widespread about the efficacy of phage therapy despite recent encouraging results. Using a bioluminescent Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain, we monitored and quantified the efficacy of a bacteriophage treatment in mice during acute lung infection. Bacteriophage treatment not only was effective in saving animals from lethal infection, but also was able to prevent lung infection when given 24 h before bacterial infection, thereby extending the potential use of bacteriophages as therapeutic agents to combat bacterial lung infection.