Bacteriophages as biological allies: The promise of Phage Therapy in combating Bovine Mastitis

Mastitis is one of the most common and a serious disease which affects the health and reproductive performance of the affected cattle severely, leading to significant economic losses in the dairy industry. Regardless of the advancements in the management and treatment, the infection normally relapses at various time intervals. Additionally, it poses a great public health concern when the milk from an antibiotic-treated animal is consumed by the human population. There are various factors which contribute towards the onset of mastitis, however, the infections caused by bacteria remain one of the most dominant and concerning cause. The past few years have witnessed a rapid growth in the occurrence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains, which has made the conventional antibiotic therapeutic option quite ineffective. The major factor for this growing resistance has been an inappropriate and excessive use of antibiotics in the treatment of livestock, which has ultimately led to a rapid spread of multi-drug-resistant pathogens globally, thus posing a great threat to both cattle and humans. Consequently, there is a pressing need for the search for alternative therapeutic approaches which could target these antibiotic-resistant bacteria more effectively. More recently, Bacteriophages—viruses that specifically target and destroy bacteria, along with their inherent endolysins, have demonstrated promising efficacy in combating mastitis-related multi-drug bacterial infections. Phage therapy thus holds high potential to become an alternative therapeutic option for the effective treatment of bovine mastitis.