Nanotherapeutics for Bacterial Livestock Diseases

Microbial diversity and abundance is so vast that almost no single corner on this earth is unoccupied by pathogenic bacteria. Animals and human population frequently encounter arrays of microbial strains. The first line of combat strategy involves prophylaxis; however, the availability of vaccines against these diverse pathogenic genera and strains never meets the adequacy. Consequently, therapeutic intervention most conveniently with different antibiotics stands as the next predominant approach. Nonjudicious use of these antibiotics has resulted emergence of antibiotic resistance among various microbial populations. Multidrug resistant (MDR), extensively drug resistant (XDR), and pandrug-resistant (PDR) bacteria are such classes that urge critical worry. Moreover, commercialization of newer antibiotics is time- as well as recourse-intensive, urging for effective alternative therapeutics to prevent billions of losses in animal husbandry and agriculture. Nanomedicines have extended multi-way benefits in this perspective. Nanoparticles as bactericidal drugs and nano-carriers to potentiate the efficacy of conventional antimicrobial therapeutics are the major approaches for therapeutic nanointervention. Extracting synergistic effect by amalgamating conventional and nano-drugs are also being explored extensively. Further, reports of arising resistance against these nano-drugs are also very limited to render this means a sustainable alternative imminently. In this chapter, a brief account of various microbial diseases with special emphasis towards the zoonotic ones has been elaborated. Various means of nanointervention towards therapeutic management of these diseases along with the challenges for clinical transition of nanomedicines and future prospects have been depicted in respective sections of the current elaboration.