Pathogenic potential of vibriophages against an experimental infection with Vibrio cholerae O1 in the RITARD model

Cholera continues to be an important public health problem in developing countries, including India. This study concerns the feasibility of possible exploitation of bacteriophages as a biocontrol agent to eliminate the pathogen Vibrio cholerae from the gut using the removable intestinal tie–adult rabbit diarrhoea (RITARD) model. A control rabbit challenged with 109 colony-forming units (CFU)/mL of V. cholerae MAK 757 developed Grade II to IV diarrhoea, but the phage-treated rabbit that received 109 CFU/mL MAK 757 and 108 plaque-forming units (PFU)/mL cocktail phages produced only Grade II diarrhoea. Histological results revealed that in the control rabbit (MAK 757-treated), villi lost their normal shape and showed more inflammatory cellular infiltration in the lamina propria compared with the experimental rabbit. Our data suggest that phages could be valuable as prophylaxis against V. cholerae infection.