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Review
. 2019 Dec 12;16(1):155.
doi: 10.1186/s12985-019-1260-3.

Veterinary use of bacteriophage therapy in intensively-reared livestock

Adriano Gigante  1 , Robert J Atterbury  2
Affiliations
Review

Veterinary use of bacteriophage therapy in intensively-reared livestock

Adriano Gigante et al. Virol J. .

Abstract

Zoonoses are infectious diseases transmitted directly or indirectly between animals and humans. Several important zoonotic pathogens colonize farm animals asymptomatically, which may lead to contamination of the food chain and public health hazards. Moreover, routine sampling of carcasses at retail by government authorities over the past 20 years suggests the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in foodborne pathogens has increased. If this continues, antibiotics may be ineffective against such pathogens in the future and alternative approaches, such as phage therapy, may be necessary. Intensive livestock farming is the only realistic way of meeting the demand for meat from an increasing global population and growth in middle class consumers in developing countries, particularly in Asia. This review elaborates on the use of phages to control zoonotic pathogens in intensively-reared livestock (poultry and pigs).

Keywords: Bacteriophage; Phage therapy; Zoonotic.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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