Using viruses to treat infections in pigs

Pig producers could soon be using viruses to treat bacterial infections. Prof Martha Clokie from the University of Leicester is going to be leading research into certain types of viruses that could be used to treat Brachyspira and Salmonella in pigs.

Speaking at the BPEX Innovation Conference, Clokie said that viruses behave as selective parasites of bacteria. So ‘friendly’ viruses, known as bacteriophages, can be used as specific and targeted treatments for certain bacteria.

“In our work in humans we’ve been able to use certain viruses to treat the gut bacterium Clostridium difficile,” said Clokie. “Plus, because of the phages’ specificity, they can also be used to diagnose which bacteria are causing active infection.

“Phages have been used to treat bacteria in this way for 100 years but interest in this area has been revived recently because of the rise in resistance to antibiotics.

“Originally, the specificity of bacteriophages was seen as a challenge and the broad spectrum of antibiotics made them the favoured option when they were discovered.

“However, bacteriophages are highly specific to their host and only bind to and infect those bacteria. Because of this, they won’t damage the whole flora of the gut which makes them a valuable alternative option to antibiotics.”

Clokie mentioned that, in future, they could be used at farm level or even in the abattoir to reduce contamination of carcasses.

To find out more, view Martha’s presentation and those of the other conference speakers here.