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Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. doi:10.1128/AAC.01513-06
Copyright (c) 2007, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.

Experimental phage therapy against Staphylococcus aureus in mice

School of Biotechnological Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy; School of Agriculture, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: iannelli{at}unina.it.

	Abstract

The present study describes a bacteriophage (M^Sa) active against Staphylococcus aureus, including the methicillin-resistant staphylococcal strains. Inoculated into mice simultaneously with S. aureus A170 (10⁸ CFU/mouse), phages (10⁹ PFU) rescue 97% of the mice; when applied to non-lethal (5 x 10⁶ CFU/mouse), ten-day infections, the phage also fully clears the bacteria. The phage M^Sa, delivered inside macrophages by S. aureus, kills the intracellular staphylococci, in vivo and in vitro. The phage can also prevent abscess formation and reduce the bacterial load and weight of abscesses. These results suggest a potential use of the phage for the control of human S. aureus infections, both local and systemic.