New Phage Developments Look Promising for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

The majority of infections contracted by the general population are treated with antibiotics. North American and European physicians have relied on antibiotics to treat infections since they were invented in 1928.

Our over-reliance on antibiotics has not come without consequences. Several infections and superbugs such as Staphylococcus Aureus, Streptococcus Pneumoniae, Iraqibacter, and many others have developed a resistance to traditional antibiotics, leaving many experts to question the long-term viability of antibiotics. 

The medical community has been searching for a viable alternative to reduce the chances that infections will develop an immunity to antibiotics.

The idea of using a specialized virus to kill bacteria may seem strange. However, bacteriophages have the potential to solve this problem.

Using Viruses to Kill Bacteria

Antibiotics use a chemical process to eliminate bacteria. This is accomplished by disrupting essential functions bacteria require to survive. However, broad-spectrum antibiotics often over-treat an infection and eliminate many species of bacteria when administered.

Bacteriophages are viruses that exist only to kill bacteria. When deployed in a patient, they can be used to treat isolated infections. Early research looks promising too, with one early study showing that they were an effective solution for treating Cholera in India. In that study, 63% of untreated people died, while only 8% of those who were treated using phages died.

Earlier in the year, the FDA gave approval to the University of California San Diego School of Medicine to conduct the “first U.S. clinical trial of an intravenously administered bacteriophage.”

This innovative treatment is administered by injecting phages into infected cells. The phages attach themselves to bacteria, inject their DNA into that bacteria to create additional phages, and produce a toxin which causes the infected bacteria to rupture from the inside out, releasing the newly created phages.

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SOURCES

http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2018/bacteriophage-solution-antibiotics-problem/

https://sites.ualberta.ca/~pukatzki/labpage/Lab_News/Entries/2010/11/14_Phage_Therapy_files/The%20Bacteriophage%20Inquiry.pdf

https://health.ucsd.edu/news/releases/Pages/2019-01-08-FDA-okays-uc-san-diego-to-launch-novel-phage-study.aspx