Isolation of Lytic Acinetobacter baumannii Phage vB_Acib_C_A10 from Iraq pond waters and Comparing Its Antibacterial Effect with Cefotaxime Antibiotic

Bacteriophages are viruses that attack bacteria and lead to their lysis in an efficient and highly specific manner. These phages could be an ideal option for microbial control. These natural enemies of bacteria were used as therapeutic agents before the advent of antibiotics. Currently, with the rapid spread of multidrug resistant bacteria, phage therapy can be an effective alternative treatment for antibiotic resistant bacteria. This study evaluated the effectiveness of bacteriophages in removing Cefotaxime-resistant clinical Acinetobacter baumannii strains (CTX_RAB) in vitro. Our A. baumannii strains were isolated and identified by standard and genetic methods. The antibiogram resistant was ascertained using phenotypic and genotypic method for cefotaxime antibiotics. The bacteriophages were isolated from environmental water samples. They were exposed to the host bacteria by the double-layer agar technique (DLA) to observe plaques. Cross reaction of the phages on test A.baumannii strains was performed to determine broader-spectrum phages. We successfully isolated Bacteriophage vB_Acib_C_A10 (ф Acib_A10) active against clinical strains of CTX_RAB by enrichichment from activated pond water samlies using representatives of those strains. Purified bacteriophage suspensions obtained were tested on a range of clinical isolates that included representatives of multiple strains of each of the international clonal lineages, as well as minor and sporadic strains. An effective bacteriophage was isolated for each strain. Examination by transmission electron microscopy revealed bacteriophage of the Corticoviridae family. The crossreaction showed phages which affect more than six A.baumannii strains. They can be a good choice for clinical therapeutic use. Conclusions: According to the results, six strains were resistant to all concentration of cefotaxime antibiotics. However, for each of these resistant bacteria one bacteriophage was isolated from environmental samples, which showed the effectiveness of Effective bacteriophages to remove clinically resistant A. baumannii in vitro.