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10 Jul 2008
Bacteriophages can help to reduce the number of cases of food poisoning. The phages kill pathogenic bacteria such as Campylobacter, thereby reducing the risk of infection. This was shown from research conducted by Dr. Marcel van Bergen of the Central Veterinary Institute in Lelystad, part of Wageningen UR.
Van Bergen studied the control of Campylobacter, one of the pathogens that can be managed with bacteriophages. Phages are actually viruses. This sounds dangerous, acknowledges Van Bergen, but it isn't. ‘Phages are everywhere. They are not hazardous for people, animals or plants. They are very specific, and consequently are not even dangerous for other species of bacteria.
A bacterial phage kills a pathogenic bacterium by attaching itself to the bacterium and inserting its genetic material into the cell. As a result, the metabolic system of the pathogenic bacterium is taken over so that it can only produce new phages. However, this process does not continue until the last pathogen has been eliminated. In experiments with phages and Campylobacter in manure from table chickens, Van Bergen discovered that there is often a balance between the bacteriophages and the pathogen
The researcher infected 60 chickens with Campylobacter jejuni. He then released the Campylobacter-specific bacteriophage. He saw that the number of bacteria initially declined rapidly, but then stabilised at a lower level.
This discovery can be important to society. The Ministry of Public Health estimates that Campylobacter infection costs society more than €25 million annually. The most common symptom is diarrhoea, but in serious cases the infection can result in the neurological condition known as Guillain-Barré Syndrome. Because the risk of infection depends on the number of pathogenic bacteria that are consumed, reducing the number of bacteria in food such as chicken can reduce the disease burden – and therefore the cost of the disease. / Jan Braakman
This article has been produced by the editors of Resource, the weekly news magazine of Wageningen University and Research Centre. More information can be obtained by the press department of Wageningen UR, e-mail: pers.communicatie@wur.nl or the editorial board of Resource, e-mail: resource@wur.nl. See also the archive on http://www.resource-online.nl
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