Scientists are using an old remedy to help cure mastitis in dairy cattle.
Agriculture Canada’s food research program in Guelph, Ont., is studying how phage therapy controls udder inflammation. Phage therapy was used extensively in humans before the introduction of penicillin.
Research scientist Parviz Sabour said ingested or injected bacteriophage break into the bacterial cell of mastitis. Using the machinery of the cell to reproduce by the hundreds, these tiny parasites then kill the bacteria and attack other bacteria cells.
“One injection of phage acts like a reactor.”
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Sabour said a growing resistance to antibiotics commonly used to treat mastitis is resurrecting interest in phage therapy.
There are also growing concerns about the use of antibiotics and growth hormones in animals. Sabour said their movement into the food chain could result in increased resistance to antibiotics among bacteria that affect humans. He said a number of companies are now researching its use as a preventive tool against the spread of E. coli in cattle.
The research project, which began less than a year ago, will run for three to five years. Laboratory research is under way now and will be supplemented with tests on live cattle in the future.
