Shiga toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) can form biofilms and frequently cause serious foodborne illnesses. A strain of STEC O145:H25 (EC19990166) known to be a strong biofilm former was used to evaluate the efficacy of bacteriophage AZO145A against biofilms formed on stainless steel (SS) coupons. Exposure of STEC O145:H25 to phage AZO145A (10¹⁰ PFU/mL) for 2 h resulted in a 4.0 log₁₀ reduction (P < 0.01) of planktonic cells grown in M9 broth at 24 °C for 24 h, while reductions were 2.0 log₁₀ CFU/mL if these cells were grown for 48 h or 72 h prior to phage treatment. STEC O145 biofilms formed on SS coupons for 24, 48 and 72 h were reduced (P < 0.01) 2.9, 1.9 and 1.9 log₁₀ CFU/coupon by phages. STEC O145 cells in biofilms were readily transferred from the surface of the SS coupon to beef (3.6 log₁₀ CFU/coupon) even with as little as 10 s of contact with the meat surface. However, transfer of STEC O145 cells from biofilms that formed on SS coupons for 48 h to beef was reduced (P < 0.01) by 3.1 log₁₀ CFU by phage (2 × 10¹⁰ PFU/mL) at 24 °C. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that bacterial cells within indentations on the surface of SS coupons were reduced by phage. These results suggest that bacteriophage AZO145A could be effective in reducing the viability of biofilm-adherent STEC O145 on stainless steel in food industry environments.

志贺毒素原性大肠杆菌（STEC）会形成生物膜并经常引起严重的食源性疾病。已知是强生物膜形成剂的STEC O145：H25（EC19990166）菌株用于评估噬菌体AZO145A对不锈钢（SS）试样上形成的生物膜的功效。将STEC O145：H25暴露于噬菌体AZO145A（10 ¹⁰  PFU / mL）2 h导致 M9肉汤中于24°C生长24 h的浮游细胞减少4.0 log ₁₀（P <0.01），而减少为2.0 如果这些细胞在噬菌体处理之前已培养48 h或72 h，则log ₁₀ CFU / mL。在SS试样上放置24、48和72 h的STEC O145生物膜减少了（P  <0.01）2.9、1.9和1.9 log 噬菌体₁₀ CFU /优惠券。生物膜中的STEC O145细胞可以很容易地从SS试样的表面转移到牛肉上（3.6 log ₁₀  CFU /试样），即使与肉表面的接触时间仅为10 s。但是， 在24°C时 ，噬菌体（2×10 ¹⁰ PFU / mL）将STEC O145细胞从在SS试样上形成48小时的生物膜上的生物膜转移至牛肉的过程减少了（P  <0.01）3.1 log ₁₀ CFU 。扫描电子显微镜显示，SS噬菌体表面的凹痕内的细菌细胞被噬菌体减少。这些结果表明，在食品工业环境中，噬菌体AZO145A可以有效减少粘附生物膜的STEC O145在不锈钢上的生存能力。