Stability And Lytic Activity Assessment In Milk Of Bacteriophages Targeting Escherichia Coli Causing Bovine Mastitis

Bovine mastitis is a major production disease in dairy cattle and complementary treatments to antimicrobials are urgently needed to fight antibiotic resistances. Intramammary phage therapy is a promising approach but characterizing isolated phages in milk is a crucial initial step. This study aimed to compare the stability and lytic activity of 10 newly isolated phages targeting E. coli in milk. Our study indicates that milk components are not an obstacle to phage therapy in the context of E. coli mastitis. However, bacterial regrowth during the in vitro efficacy assessment suggests the presence of resistances that could be bypassed with the use of phage cocktails.