Sonia Bhonchal Bhardwaj

By Sonia B. Bhardwaj

Gut flora is the largest reservoir of human flora. It is an essential factor in certain pathological disorders, including multisystem organ failure, colon cancer and inflammatory bowel diseases and extraintestinal disorders, such as allergy, asthma and even obesity. Prebiotics and probiotics are known to have a role in prevention or treatment of some diseases. Nevertheless, bacteria have been found to be useful for treating disease and thus promoting human health in a safe and natural way.

Part of the book: The Gut Microbiome

By Sonia Bhonchal Bhardwaj

Part of the book: Oral Microbiology in Periodontitis

By Sonia Bhonchal Bhardwaj

Enterococci, particularly Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium, are an important cause of nosocomial infections and have become a major issue worldwide. Nosocomial infections due to vancomycin resistant Enterococci (VRE) occur frequently. A significant increase in prevalence of VRE has been reported recently in many countries. Enterococci are second most frequent cause of nosocomial urinary tract infection, bacteremia and infective endocarditis. They are also related to etiology of intra-abdominal an pelvic infections, gastrointestinal infections and oral infections. The ability of Enterococci to survive in adverse conditions, presence of virulence factors and possession of intrinsic and acquired antibiotic resistance traits poses a therapeutic challenge. Due to high level of multidrug resistance in VRE, Enterococcus has become an important organism in health based settings.

Part of the book: Pathogenic Bacteria

By Sonia Bhonchal Bhardwaj and Seema Kumari

Bacteriophage or phage therapy involves using phages or their products as bio-agents for the treatment or prophylaxis of bacterial infections or diseases. Bacteriophages have the ability to regulate the oral microflora by lysing sensitive bacterial cells and releasing bacterial components with pro-inflammatory activity. Bacteriophages carry specific polysaccharide depolymerases that aid viral penetration and can disrupt the pathogenic process associated with biofilm and exopolysaccharide in the oral cavity. Oral diseases are mainly caused by biofilm forming microorganisms and phages are now being used for biocontrol of oral biofilms. Phages for Actinomyces species, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Enterococcus faecalis, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Lactobacillus species, Neisseria species, Streptococcus species, and Veillonella species have been isolated and characterized. Bacteriophages could be considered as potential therapeutic tools for the elimination of caries, periodontitis, and other diseases of the oral cavity.

Part of the book: Bacteriophages in Therapeutics

By Sonia Bhonchal Bhardwaj

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most prevalent bacterial diseases affecting 150 million people annually worldwide. Around 85% of UTIs are caused by Escherichia coli from the Enterobacteriaceae family. The pathogenesis of uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC ) involves adherence, colonization, evading host defenses, and damage to host tissue to achieve virulence. The uncontrolled use of antibiotics worldwide during therapy of UTIs has resulted in increased antibiotic resistance and the emergence of multidrug resistance (MDR) and extensive drug resistant (XDR) to UPEC. Bacteriophages have the potential to eliminate and manage resistant biofilm-forming uropathogenic organisms, such as E. coli and control UTIs. The chapter discusses the use of phages as an alternative treatment for UTIs caused by UPEC.

Part of the book: Enterobacteria