Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Phage and antibiotic treatment cured implant infection in Siamese cat
By Braunstein, Ron et al.·Published in The veterinary quarterly·2024·Institute of Biomedical and Oral Research (IBOR)·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Successful phage-antibiotic therapy ofimplant-associated infection in a Siamese cat.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A Siamese cat developed a serious infection after surgery to fuse bones in her leg, which didn't heal for five months. Traditional antibiotics weren't effective due to the infection being resistant to multiple drugs. The veterinarian used a new treatment combining a specific virus that attacks bacteria (called phage therapy) with an antibiotic, applying the phage directly to the wound and giving the antibiotic as an injection. After two rounds of treatment over ten weeks, the cat's wound healed completely, showing promise for this innovative approach in treating tough infections in pets.
People also search for: cat infection after surgery · Siamese cat wound healing · phage therapy for pets · antibiotic-resistant infection in cats
Abstract
Antibiotic-resistant pathogens are a growing global issue, leading to untreatable infectious diseases in both humans and animals. Personalized bacteriophage (phage) therapy, the use of specific anti-bacterial viruses, is currently a leading approach to combat antibiotic-resistant infections. The implementation of phage therapy has primarily been focused on humans, almost neglecting the impact of such infections on the health and welfare of companion animals. Pets also have the potential to spread resistant infections to their owners or the veterinary staff through zoonotic transmission. Here, we showcase personalized phage-antibiotic treatment of a cat with a multidrug-resistantimplant-associated infection post-arthrodesis surgery. The treatment encompassed a tailored combination of an anti-phage and ceftazidime, precisely matched to the pathogen. The phage was topically applied to the surgical wound while the antibiotic was administered intramuscularly. After two treatment courses spanning 7 and 3 weeks, the surgical wound, which had previously remained open for five months, fully closed. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of personalized phage therapy application in felines, which provides further evidence of the effectiveness of this approach. The successful outcome paves the way for personalized phage-antibiotic treatments against persistent infections therapy in veterinary practice.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38726795/