Killing MRSA in Wounds
Abstract
Military personnel have an increased risk of injuries that would be susceptible to infection by Staphylococci (MRSA). The approach uses the rapid killing action of a phage lysin that kills MRSA and all other staphylococci to treat MRSA-infected wounds in a rat model to prevent infection. It is anticipated that the lysin may be used in the field to eliminate MRSA during transport to the field hospital and after. We asked if combination therapy with lysin and vancomycin will be more effective in clearing MRSA from freshly contaminated wounds than the standard of care using vancomycin alone. Results show that wounds of rats treated with buffer alone exhibited 106 CFU/gram of tissue of MRSA while animals treated with both Vancomycin / lysin had an average of 102 CFU/gram of tissue, a reduction of ~4-logs of MRSA. Treatment with vancomycin/buffer or buffer/lysin resulted in a total of 105. Experiments in which a combination of vancomycin and lysin was used on established MRSA wound infections, i.e., 5-dayabscesses, show that rats treated with buffer alone exhibited an average of 105 CFU/gram of tissue of MRSA while animals treated with vancomycin and lysin had an average of <102 CFU/gram of tissue, a reduction of >3-logs of MRSA. Treatment with vancomycin/buffer or buffer/lysin resulted in a total of ~103 CFU/gm, reductions of <3 logs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 2013
- Accession Number
- AD1035527
Entities
People
- Vincent A. Fischetti
Organizations
- The Rockefeller University