Evaluation of the role of phages in reducing Salmonella spp. in poultry meat: a systematic review and meta‑analysis

The use of lytic bacteriophages is a promising approach to the biological control of foodborne pathogens. Although several factors are known to affect the efficiency of phage treatments against foodborne pathogens, relevant interaction studies are limited and current research is still in its infancy. It is not yet clear to what extent environmental factors influence bacterial susceptibility to phage infections. This study aimed to carry out a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the effect of various factors on phage function in reducing Salmonella spp. in poultry meat. A systematic search of PubMed, Science Direct, and Scopus databases for literature published in English up to June ۲۰۲۱ was conducted to identify all studies using bacteriophages for Salmonella reduction in poultry meat. Of the ۱۰۳۵ screened articles, twenty records were included. The overall Salmonella reduction rate was ۲.۹۹ log۱۰ CFU/cm۲ (۹۵% CI). The average reduction rate of Salmonella at ۲۵ °C (۴.۸۴ log۱۰ CFU/cm۲, ۹۵% CI) was more than ۴ °C (۳.۶۸ log۱۰ CFU/cm۲, ۹۵% CI). Meta-analysis showed that the bacteriophage was more effective against Salmonella Enteritidis (۲.۹۹ log۱۰ CFU/cm۲, ۹۵% CI) than Salmonella Typhimurium (۲.۴۵ log۱۰ CFU/cm۲, ۹۵% CI) and other Salmonella species (۱.۰۶ log۱۰ CFU/cm۲, ۹۵% CI). Also, we found that the effects of phages increase over time, and with an increase in the bacterial and phage doses, the reduction of Salmonella increases.

Keywords:

“Meta-analysis” , “Systematic review” , “Chicken” , “Salmonella” , “Bacteriophage”.