FIG. 5.

Analysis of protection of mice by phage 153-A5 with additional V. vulnificus strains. VV1009 is phage susceptible and 2400112, NSV-5829, and 99-796DP-E7 are phage resistant in vitro. (A) Iron-dextran-treated mice were inoculated s.c. with 398 CFU of V. vulnificus VV1009. Mice were injected i.v. with BSG (control) (C), phage 153A-5 (A-5), or phage 153A-7 (A-7) immediately after s.c. infection. Samples were harvested at 14 h. Data are means and standard deviations for log CFU per gram of skin lesion (Lesion CFU), log CFU per gram of liver lesion (Liver CFU), and rectal temperature (Temp). For lesion score (Lesion), the mean is shown. All groups contained five animals. Protection was observed for Lesion CFU, Liver CFU, and Temp (A-5) (P < 0.02 [compared to control]). Asterisks indicate significant differences from control. Phage 153A-7-treated mice were not protected in terms of any criteria. (B) Iron-dextran-treated mice were inoculated s.c. with approximately 1,000 CFU of V. vulnificus 2400112 (bars with vertical lines), NSV-5829 (NSV; bars with stippling), or 99-796DP-E7 (99-796; bars with horizontal lines). Mice were injected i.v. with BSG (control) (white background) or phage 153A-5 (grey background) immediately after s.c. infection. Samples were harvested 15 to 20 h later. Data are means and standard deviations for log CFU per gram of skin lesion (Lesion CFU), log CFU per gram of liver lesion (Liver CFU), and rectal temperature (Temp). Data represent two or three combined experiments. Numbers of animals in groups were as follows: for 2400112, without phage, n = 15, and with phage, n = 16; for NSV-5829, with or without phage, n = 15; and for 99-796DP-E7, without phage, n = 10, and with phage, n = 8. No significant differences were observed with phage treatment in the pooled results for any strain; however, some individual experiments for some strains yielded statistically significant differences (see the text).