There is provided a safe, natural, environmentally sound means of controlling bacterial contamination, corrosion, and souring of oil and gas wells and reservoirs that result from bacteria-contaminated water in a well. In one aspect it is a process for remediation of souring of petroleum reservoirs and coalbeds by adding to the water used in flooding and fracing operations an effective amount of virulent (non-lysogenic) bacteriophages (phages) specific for problematic target bacteria. The invention also provides a means for combating loss of effectiveness of bacterial control by staging bacteriophage production and application to control dominant and sub-dominant target bacteria in a community of target bacteria.

The present invention provides a simple culture device that is designed for manufacture and use in areas of limited resources. The device is useful for cell culture in such environments with limited resources because cells grow in paper just as they do in a culture dish. Also provided is a binding assay that employs an activatable dormant bacteriophage carrying a reporter gene to qualitatively or quantitatively detect the presence of a substance of interest in a sample.

In alternative embodiments, provided are products of manufacture and kits, and methods, to enrich for and/or isolate microbes such as viruses and/or phages capable of targeting, e.g., binding to, targeting, and/or killing or otherwise making non-viable or non-pathogenic, specific or desired microbes such as bacteria. In alternative embodiments, provided are products of manufacture comprising: a virus and/or a phage (a bacteriophage). In alternative embodiments, provided are products of manufacture and kits containing a virus and/or a phage (a bacteriophage) enriched for, selected for or isolated by a method as provided herein, or a microbe containing a virus and/or a phage (a bacteriophage) enriched, selected for and/or isolated by a method as provided herein.

The present invention relates to a bacteriophage composition comprising one or more (suitably two or more, or three) bacteriophages selected from Sa87, J-Sa36, Sa83, J-Sa37, or mutants thereof, use of the same for medical or non-medical applications, kits, bandage, and wound dressing comprising the same.

Methods of detecting target bacteria are provided. In some embodiments, the methods comprise exposing a sample to a phage capable of infecting target bacteria, said phage comprising a heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding a marker. In some embodiments, the target bacteria comprise Listeria. In some embodiments, the target bacteria are all Listeria. Recombinant Listeria phage comprising a heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding a marker are also provided as are useful combinations of such phage and articles of manufacture comprising such phage, among other things.

The present invention relates to bacteriophage therapy. More particularly, the present invention relates to novel bacteriophages having a high specificity against Escherichia coli strains, their manufacture, components thereof, compositions comprising the same and the uses thereof in phage therapy.

The present disclosure provides for a combination of bacteriophages from various environmental sources combined to produce a phage mixture targeting shiga-toxin-producing Escherichia coli strains. Techniques and methods of production and use of the phage combinations are also provided.

Disclosed is a broad-spectrum phage for efficiently lysing Cronobacter, a bactericide, and use thereof. Also provided is a Cronobacter phage vB_CsaM_CBT2, where the phage has a deposit number of CCTCC NO: M 2023524. The phage only specifically lyses Cronobacter, has a broad lysis spectrum, and can cover four species of Cronobacter (including multi-drug-resistant bacteria). The phage shows a desirable stability at a pH value of 3 to 11 and 25 C. to 70 C., and has a bactericidal effect of 80.55% to 99.97% within 12 h in a milk powder sample. Moreover, the phage does not carry any virulence and antibiotic resistance genes, and meets the safety requirements in practical applications. Therefore, the phage provides a new strategy and resource guarantee for the control of Cronobacter contamination in powdered infant formula (PIF) and its industrial chain and environment, as well as the development of bactericides.

The present invention provides a method of manufacturing an article (10) comprising one or more filaments (12) of material having a hydrophilic surface (12a) comprising the steps of: forming a first solution (16) containing one or more bacteriophages (18a) in suspension in a carrier fluid (20) and depositing them upon one or more filament (12), in which said deposition of said first solution (16) is by dispensing drops (22) thereof from a drop dispenser (24) and by the step of depositing a pre-determined amount of said first solution per unit length on said first filament (12) and then forming said one or more first filaments (12) into a final article (10).

The invention relates to the field of microbiology, specifically to an antimicrobial composition comprising a first and a second bacteriophage, wherein the composition has lytic activity against E. coli O157. The invention further relates to a use of the antimicrobial composition for controlling bacterial contamination in a food- or feed environment on or in food- or feed processing equipment or food- or feed containers or in a food- or feed product.