Using bacteriophage to control Salmonella in pigs

抗菌素耐药性（AMR）是许多引起动物和人类疾病（病原体）的细菌中日益严重的问题。沙门氏菌是这两种疾病的重要细菌病原体，经常引起胃肠道感染，有时可能发展成更严重和危及生命的疾病。它可以通过食物链从受感染的农场动物传播给人类。集约化养殖的食用动物，如家禽和猪，是沙门氏菌的重要来源，多年来在这些动物中使用抗生素与这种细菌的新菌株的发展有关，这些菌株对抗生素具有耐药性。这意味着动物和人类的感染更难以治疗，随着时间的推移，这可能导致更严重的感染，特别是在老年人等弱势群体或免疫力差的人群中。迫切需要找到更具可持续性的抗生素替代品。本项目将研究利用噬菌体作为一种生物防治菌株沙门氏菌感染猪。噬菌体，通常简称为“噬菌体”，是一种感染并杀死细菌的病毒。它们具有很强的特异性，只影响目标细菌种类，而不伤害其他有益细菌。与其他病毒不同，噬菌体不会感染动物或人类的细胞，并且可以在环境中广泛存在。我们计划使用噬菌体选择性地杀死感染猪并有可能通过食物链传播给消费者的沙门氏菌菌株。这些噬菌体，无论是单独使用还是联合使用，都有可能成为抗生素的天然和可持续替代品，并且还可能导致其他动物和潜在的人类抗生素耐药细菌感染的新治疗方法。噬菌体治疗的有效应用将需要彻底了解噬菌体-细菌在一系列环境中的相互作用。该项目将使用实验室实验和计算机模拟（机器学习）来全面了解噬菌体在不同条件下如何感染沙门氏菌。这些信息将用于设计方案，以最佳地使用噬菌体疗法来治疗实验性猪沙门氏菌感染。

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing problem in many types of bacteria which cause disease (pathogens) in animals and humans. Salmonella is an important bacterial pathogen of both, and often causes gastrointestinal infections which may sometimes progress to more serious and life-threatening disease. It can spread from infected farm animals to humans through the food chain. Intensively farmed food animals such as poultry and pigs are an important source of Salmonella, and the use of antibiotics in these animals over many years has been associated with the development of new strains of this bacterium which are resistant to antibiotics. This means that infections in animals and humans are more difficult to treat, which may result in more serious infections occurring over time, particularly in vulnerable groups such as the elderly, or those with poor immunity. There is an urgent need to find alternatives to antibiotics which are more sustainable. This project will investigate the use of bacteriophage as a biological control against strains of Salmonella which infect pigs. Bacteriophage, often contracted to 'phage', are viruses which infect and kill bacteria. They are quite specific, only affecting the targeted bacterial species while leaving other bacteria, which may be beneficial, unharmed. Unlike other viruses, phages do not infect the cells of animals or humans and can be found widely in the environment. We plan to use phages to selectively kill strains of Salmonella strains which infect pigs and have the potential to be transmitted through the food chain to consumers. These phages, when used individually or in combination, have the potential to be a natural and sustainable alternative to antibiotics, and may also result in new treatments for antibiotic resistant bacterial infections in other animals and potentially humans as well. The effective application of phage therapy will require a thorough understanding of phage-bacteria interactions in a range of environments. This project will use laboratory experiments and computer simulations (machine learning) to build a comprehensive understanding of how phages infect Salmonella under different conditions. This information will then be used to design protocols for the optimal use of phage therapy to treat experimental Salmonella infections in pigs.