Therapeutic and prophylactic effect of the first experimental
bacteriophage treatment to control diarrhoea caused by E. coli in
newborn calves
Abstract
The prevalence of antibiotic resistant bacteria causing neonatal
diarrhoea in calves has become a serious problem in the control of
infection. Due to increasing antibiotic resistance, the bacteriophages
with probiotics are considered the best alternative. The aim of study
was to evaluate the using a suppository with probiotic strains of
Lactobacillus spp. and bacteriophages specific for pathogenic E. coli in
young calves with diarrhoea. The study evaluated therapeutic and
prophylactic effects. The study was carried out on 24 female HF calves,
aged 2 to 7 days and weighing from 35-46 kg. The calves were divided
into four groups (n=6) each: Group 1 – healthy control, received no
medicine; Group 2 – positive control with diarrhoea; Group 3 – healthy
calves received medicine; Group 4 – calves with diarrhoea received
medicine.The animals received suppositories with Lactobacillus spp. and
bacteriophages specific for pathogenic E. coli for five days. On the
first day, calves received the suppositories twice– in the morning and
12 hours later; subsequently they were administered once a day. The
health status of calves was observed for 11d after the first application
of suppositories. A protective and preventive effect of the experimental
therapy was obtained in the research. The probiotic-phage suppositories
reduced the duration of diarrhoea in calves, completely eliminating it
within 24-48 hours after application The used therapy stimulated the
activation of immune mechanisms in calves, which translated into an
enhanced specific and non-specific response and increased resistance to
infection.