Effect of Isolated Bacteriophage on Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Bacterial drug resistance due to overuse of antibiotics and several mechanisms of resistance by bacteria is increasing. Multi-drug resistant bacteria (MDR) in different parts of the hospital including the ICU, cause nosocomial infections and resistance to antibiotics made them difficult to treat. Alternative methods of treatment are one way to solve this problem. Bacteriophages are antibacterial agents that specifically attack their host. In this study, Pseudomonas specific lytic phages isolated from the clinical environment and its effect on MDR P. aeruginosa was investigated. In a cross sectional study in 2013, isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from clinical specimens of patients admitted to the ICU were identified by biochemical methods then antibiotic resistance patterns was determined by standard disk diffusion method according to CLSI and used as indicator hosts to screen phages from water samples. 42 strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa have been isolated from the ICU.The antibiotic resistant patterns of bacterial isolates were as follows: 88%to amikacin, 90% to cefepime, 85% to ceftazidime, 90% to gentamicin, 75%to imipenem and meropenem and 95% to ciprofloxacin. Lytic bacteriophage was isolated only from hospital wastewater. The isolated bacteriophage had no effect on non-MDR P. aeruginosa and other Gram-negative bacteria. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is increasing. New alternative methods such as phage therapy would open new insights in treatment of multidrug resisitant bacterial infections.