Photodynamic inactivation as an effective intervention against Campylobacter

Aidan Taylor (University of Reading, UK)

15:00 - 15:15 Wednesday 15 April Morning

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Abstract

Campylobacter, the leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide, routinely contaminates two-thirds of UK poultry products, often destined for the kitchens of the general public who are unknowingly at risk of infection through improper handling. Alongside rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the sheer scale of Campylobacter in the food chain is undermining current intervention strategies. A novel approach is non-UV violet-blue photodynamic inactivation (VB-PDI), which uses 405 nm light to activate endogenous photosensitisers and generate bactericidal reactive oxygen species (ROS). Here, we evaluate VB-PDI across 65 UK Campylobacter isolates of varying species, antibiotic resistance profiles, and aerotolerance levels. All isolates were susceptible to VB-PDI, and no correlation was observed between VB-PDI susceptibility and AMR status, species identity, or degree of aerotolerance. These findings demonstrate that VB-PDI has the potential to kill challenging AMR / MDR isolates, with no evidence of persister populations. In vitro evolution assays did not result in any detectable increase in VB-PDI tolerance after five weeks of repeated exposure: alongside the lack of any notably resistant isolates in our broad screen, this indicates the risk of evolved resistance is minimal. Consequently, VB-PDI offers a promising and robust intervention strategy for reducing Campylobacter in the food chain, and here we discuss possible modes of implementation and future research.

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