Abstract
Phage therapy, a promising alternative to antimicrobial treatment of bacterial diseases, is getting more and more popular, especially due to the rising awareness of antibiotic resistance and restrictions in antibiotics’ use. During recent years, we observed a growing trend of bacteriophages’ application in aquaculture, which in each year reports high losses due to bacterial diseases. This review provides an update of the status of bacteriophage therapy for the treatment and prevention of infections in the aquatic environment. As it is still mostly in the scientific stage, there are a few constraints that may prevent effective therapy. Therefore, specific characteristics of bacteriophages, that can act in favor or against their successful use in treatment, were described. We underlined aspects that need to be considered: specificity of phages, bacterial resistance, safety, immune response of the host organism, formulation, administration and stability of phage preparations as well as bacteriophages’ influence on the environment. The biggest challenge to overcome is finding the right balance between the desired and problematic characteristics of bacteriophages. Finally, regulatory approval challenges may be encountered by bacteriophage manufacturers. Even though there are still some technical constraints connected with the global use of bacteriophage therapy, it was concluded that it can be successfully applied in aquaculture.
Highlights
Over the last 50 years, the demand for aquaculture production has been significantly growing.The biggest producers are Asian countries that are responsible for 89% by volume and 79% by value of global production [1]
We suggest a discussion over some specific characteristics of bacteriophages on the example of aquaculture
Bacteriophage therapy applied in food-producing animals might be an important alternative to antibiotics, especially in aquaculture production
Summary
Over the last 50 years, the demand for aquaculture production has been significantly growing. An additional threat comes from the antimicrobial resistance of pathogens This is partly impacted by the use of antibiotics in animal production as it is estimated that farm animals consume 73% of all antibiotics in the world [5]. Nowadays, they are used to treat serious infections, and as preventive agents or growth promotors. In some cases, even when antibiotic therapy is effective in laboratory trials, its efficacy in vivo may be very low [8] Another important aspect is the fact that in 2006, the EU authority introduced a ban for antibiotic usage as growth promoters (AGPs) in animal production. It was noticed that their unique features can be used in favor or against effective phage therapy, depending on the application
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