RESUMEN
A toddler, thriving well, developmentally normal, and fully immunized, presented with fever, cough, and cold for a day, followed by breathing difficulty. Although the child was not ill upon admission, he had a fever and was breathing rapidly. On examination, visible sub-costal retractions and wheezing in both lungs were noted. He required Intensive Care Unit (ICU) management for a brief period, with oxygen supplementation, round-the-clock nebulization, and other supportive care. Initially, he was diagnosed with a wheeze-associated lower respiratory tract infection, as his chest X-ray showed bilateral hyperinflated lung fields. Blood investigations revealed microcytic hypochromic anemia, and his renal function tests, electrolytes, and liver function tests were within normal limits. C-reactive protein (CRP) was positive at 15.1 mg/L (≥10 mg/L considered positive), and the blood culture was sterile. A nasopharyngeal swab on day 2 of admission tested positive for reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of Human Bocavirus (HBoV). Gradually, the child's condition improved, and he was able to be taken off oxygen support two days after admission. Upon discharge, the child was managed symptomatically with oral medications.
RESUMEN
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) by Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) are a significant health concern, especially due to the increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance. This study focuses on isolating and characterizing bacteriophages specific to UPEC strains isolated from UTI samples. The isolated phages were assessed for their ability to target and lyse UPEC in vitro, focusing on their efficacy in disrupting biofilms, a key virulence factor contributing to UTI recurrence and antibiotic resistance. The morphological structure observed by TEM belongs to Myoviridae, the phage exhibited icosahedral symmetry with a long non-constricting tail, the approximate measurement of the phage head was 39 nm in diameter, and the phage tail was 105.317 nm in length. One-step growth experiments showed that the latent period was approximately 20 min, followed by a rise period of 40 min, and a growth plateau was reached within 20 min and the burst size observed was 26 phages/infected bacterial cells. These phages were capable of killing cells within the biofilms, leading to a reduction in living cell counts after a single treatment. This study highlights the potential of phages to play a significant role in disrupting, inactivating, and destroying Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) biofilms. Such findings could be instrumental in developing treatment strategies that complement antibiotics and disinfectants. The phage-antibiotic synergistic activity was compared to have the possibility to facilitate the advancement of focused and enduring alternatives to traditional antibiotic therapies for UTIs.