Experimental Phage Therapy against Staphylococcus aureus in Mice

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Abstract
The present study describes a bacteriophage (M Sa ) active against Staphylococcus aureus , including methicillin-resistant staphylococcal strains. When inoculated into mice simultaneously with S. aureus A170 (10 8 CFU/mouse), phage (10 9 PFU) rescued 97% of the mice; when applied to nonlethal (5 × 10 6 CFU/mouse) 10-day infections, the phage also fully cleared the bacteria. The phage M Sa , delivered inside macrophages by S. aureus , kills the intracellular staphylococci in vivo and in vitro. The phage can also prevent abscess formation and reduce the bacterial load and weight of abscesses. These results suggest a potential use of the phage for the control of both local and systemic human S. aureus infections.