Bacteriolytic Activity of Novel Bacteriophage PϕBw Ec01 from Cystoviridae Family against the Clinical Strain of Antibiotic Resistant Escherichia Coli in Burn Wounds

The emergence of Escherichia coli resistance to common antibiotics in burn wound patients has become a controversial problem in Iran trauma and burn hospitals. The emergence of more and more drug resistance by infectious pathogens paves the way for further study of the nature of phages, and phage therapy can significantly address this crisis. In the first phase, this study aimed to isolate and identify the biochemical and molecular nature of antibiotic-resistant E. coli, which causes burn wound infections. The second phase of this study isolated the specific phages of the bacteria in these wounds and then evaluated the morphological characteristics of the phage and the host area.

In this study, 50 bacterial strains were isolated from specialized accident and burn hospitals in Isfahan, Yazd, Tehran, and Rasht. Accurate identification and study of antibiotic resistance profile was performed by disk diffusion method on agar. The 16S rRNA coding gene was amplified using the PCR technique. The PCR product was then sent to "Gene Azma" laboratory for sequencing. In order to isolate the possible phages, a sample was taken from the raw wastewater (entrance of the northern treatment plant) in Isfahan, Iran. Phage morphology was assessed and reported by transmission electron microscopy (TEM); moreover, phage plate count and host range were assessed for this bacteriophage.

Bacterial 16S rRNA sequence was located in NCBI with MW844043 Accession Number. The specific phage PϕBw-Ec01 was significantly able to infect resistant E. coli bacteria. TEM demonstrated that the isolated phage was dsRNA and belonged to the family Cystoviridae with prototype ɸ6. PϕBw-Ec01 lytic phage was highly effective in inhibiting the growth of E. coli strain ADB_66-1 in this study.

The results of this report showed that E. coli isolated from burn wounds of hospitalized patients had high resistance to common antibiotics. The studied phage in this study can be a good choice and a suitable option for controlling and inhibiting these resistant pathogens in the burn wounds of hospitalized patients. It is hoped that with more extensive research on the identity and study of the effectiveness of phages, the rate of bacterial lysis will be investigated. This issue will reduce the microbial load caused by resistant and infectious pathogens and can be used as an effective adjuvant against burn wound infections.