Belgian project aims to eliminate MRSA in pigs

01-04-2010 | Home | News

A three-year project is being undertaken by the Veterinary and Agrochemical Research Centre (VARC) and the Free University Brussels (VUB) with the aim to eliminate methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from pigs.

According to VARC, MRSA are multi-drug resistant bacteria that cause severe problems in human medicine. A new reservoir of MRSA was discovered recently in pigs, but different domestic and non-domestic studies show that other species may be colonized as well.

The aim of this project is to eliminate MRSA in pigs, or at least achieve a significant reduction in the level of colonization, thus lowering or preventing the risk of human beings being infected. To achieve this, phage endolysins are over-produced in E. coli or Pichia pastoris. They are purified for use in the in vivo treatment of experimentally infected animals.

The specific objectives of the project are:

to isolate and over-produce a representative collection of phage-coded lysins acting against specific MRSA clones from pigs
to characterize the host range of these enzymes
to study the efficiency, in vitro and in animal models, of the bactericide action of these phage enzymes
to test methods for administering the phage enzyme preparation in the nose and on the skin of pigs, and
to test the efficiency of the phage enzyme treatment in eliminating MRSA colonization in pigs.