Using bacteriophage to control Salmonella in pigs

抗生素耐药性（AMR）是许多类型的细菌中日益严重的问题，这些细菌在动物和人类中引起疾病（病原体）。沙门氏菌是两者的重要细菌病原体，并且经常引起胃肠道感染，有时可能进展为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。密集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抗性。这意味着动物和人类的感染更难治疗，随着时间的推移可能会导致更严重的感染，特别是在老年人或免疫力差的人群等弱势群体中。迫切需要找到更可持续的抗生素替代品。本项目将研究使用噬菌体作为对感染猪的沙门氏菌菌株的生物控制。噬菌体，通常简称为“噬菌体”，是感染和杀死细菌的病毒。它们是非常具体的，只影响目标细菌物种，而不影响其他可能有益的细菌。与其他病毒不同，它不会感染动物或人类的细胞，并且可以在环境中广泛发现。我们计划使用抗生素来选择性地杀死感染猪的沙门氏菌菌株，这些菌株有可能通过食物链传播给消费者。这些抗生素，当单独或组合使用时，有可能成为抗生素的天然和可持续的替代品，也可能导致其他动物和潜在人类的抗生素耐药性细菌感染的新疗法。噬菌体治疗的有效应用将需要彻底了解在一系列环境中的噬菌体-细菌相互作用。该项目将使用实验室实验和计算机模拟（机器学习）来全面了解沙门氏菌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，以最佳使用噬菌体治疗猪沙门氏菌感染。

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.