Phage therapy in the fields of veterinary medicine: an overview

Abstract

During the last years, bacteriophages have been used as valuable tool in microbiological diagnostics and basic research. Even though the potential of bacteriophages for fighting bacterial pathogens is known for a long time, the phage therapy is not used in daily routine worldwide. Due to the continuing spread of bacterial resistance to antimicrobials and an increasing awareness of the necessity to protect consumers' health, the phage therapy meanwhile has become a subject of major interest in veterinary medicine, too. This article is meant to present fields of application for phage therapy as well as current trends of development in the field of livestock animals.