Bacteriophages in clinical samples can interfere with microbiological diagnostic tools
Brown-Jaque, Maryury (Universitat de Barcelona. Departament de Microbiologia)
Muniesa, Maite (Universitat de Barcelona. Departament de Microbiologia)
Navarro Risueño, Ferran (Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau)

Date:	2016
Abstract:	Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria, and they are found everywhere their bacterial hosts are present, including the human body. To explore the presence of phages in clinical samples, we assessed 65 clinical samples (blood, ascitic fluid, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, and serum). Infectious tailed phages were detected in >45% of ascitic fluid and urine samples. Three examples of phage interference with bacterial isolation were observed. Phages prevented the confluent bacterial growth required for an antibiogram assay when the inoculum was taken from an agar plate containing lysis plaques, but not when taken from a single colony in a phage-free area. In addition, bacteria were isolated directly from ascitic fluid, but not after liquid enrichment culture of the same samples, since phage propagation lysed the bacteria. Lastly, Gram-negative bacilli observed in a urine sample did not grow on agar plates due to the high densities of infectious phages in the sample.
Grants:	Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2009/SGR-1043 Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad RD12/0015/0017 Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad PI13/00329
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Published in:	Scientific reports, Vol. 6 (September 2016) , art. 33000, ISSN 2045-2322

DOI: 10.1038/srep33000
PMID: 27609086

8 p, 890.1 KB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Health sciences and biosciences > Institut de Recerca Sant Pau
Articles > Research articles
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