In this study, we have established an oral phage cocktail
therapy in adult mice model and also performed a comparative analysis between phage cocktail,
antibiotic and
oral rehydration treatment for orally developed
Vibrio cholerae infection. Four groups of mice were orally infected with Vibrio cholerae MAK 757 strain. Phage cocktail and
antibiotic treated groups received 1×10(8) plaque forming unit/ml (once a daily) and 40mg/kg (once a daily) as an oral dose respectively for consecutive three days after
bacterial infection. In case of
oral rehydration group, the
solution was supplied after
bacterial infection mixed with the
drinking water. To evaluate the better and safer approach of treatment, tissue and serum samples were collected. Here, phage cocktail treated mice reduced the log10 numbers of colony per gram by 3log10 (p<0.05); however,
ciprofloxacin treated mice reduced the viable numbers up to 5log10 (p<0.05). Whereas, the
oral rehydration solution application was not able to reduce the viable bacterial count but the disease progress was much more diminished (p>0.05). Besides, it was evident that
antibiotic and phage cocktail treated group had a gradual decrease in both
IL-6 and TNF-α level for 3 days (p<0.05) but the scenario was totally opposite in bacterial control and oral hydration treated group. Histological examinations also endorsed the phage cocktail and
ciprofloxacin treatment in mice. Although, in this murine model of
cholera ciprofloxacin was found to be a better
antimicrobial agent, but from the safety and specificity point of view, a better method of application could fill the bridge and advances the phages as a valuable agent in treating
Vibrio cholerae infection.