Marina Tediashvili
George Eliava Institute of Bacteriophages, Georgia
Title: One Healthconceptand Bacteriophages
Biography
Biography: Marina Tediashvili
Abstract
One Health concept, asa worldwide interdisciplinary strategy, targets the health issues linked to the increasing contacts between humans and animals, intensification and integration of agriculture and food production, expansion of international travel, bioterrorism threats, climate change, ecological stressors etc. Many infectious pathologies have been shared by humans and animals, some phytopathogenic bacteria can evolve as human opportunistic pathogens, the changing conditions in aquatic environments can trigger the development of more virulent strains of waterborne bacteria potentially pathogenic to humans. Bacterialvirusesarewidely spread in the biosphere, controlling the diversity and density of bacterial populations in various ecosystems. During up to 100 years history of phage research naturally occurring lytic phages have been found for majority of important pathogens of humans, animals and plants. Thisprovides a viable resource for development of effective phage-based control strategy consistent with “ One Health” approach. Emergence and re- emergence of life- threatening drug- resistant bacterial infections in the last two decades gave a new insight at the potential of bacteriophages as alternative to antibiotics, capable to eliminate or significantly reduce the use of chemical antimicrobials in various spheres of human activity. The presentation will cover the valuable experience in human phage therapy accumulated at the Eliava Institute of Bacteriophages as well as recent research developments aimed at phage application for control of bacterial diseases in livestock and aquaculture, for food safety and crop protection, also environmental decontamination.