Lytic bacteriophages in veterinary medicine: A therapeutic option against bacterial pathogens?

The high prevalence of certain bacterial diseases in animals and their economic impact at the productive and public health levels, have directed attention towards the search for new methods of control and prevention, alternative or complementary, that aim to mitigate their adverse effects. This scenario is further complicated by the permanent and rising presence of pathogenic bacteria that are resistant to many antibiotics, limiting the choice of control strategies. In the continuous search for new therapies, there is a renewed interest on the application of bacteriophages, viruses that kill bacteria, as potential antimicrobial agents. Phage therapy in animal production, pets and experimental models of human infection have been discussed in veterinary medicine for 3 decades, with encouraging results in terms of reducing mortality, the severity of the clinical state and bacterial counts at tissue level. These benefits have been achieved thanks to increased knowledge of the biology of phages, better technology that allows their purification and their inherent advantages in terms of their safety for animals. Currently, phage research continues to open new horizons for both the medical industry and the food industry, considering the use of phages in the stages of "farm to fork", with promising results if used as an intervention in animals since their arrival to the slaughter house.