How long should phage treatment be extended?
He concluded that extending phage treatment for long enough for antibodies to become a problem shows an error in judgment, as typically phage therapy should at least begin to be effective within a few days or one should consider adding another phage that does not cross-react serologically.
How long do phages stay in the body?
Once a person ingests phages, these phages remain active as long as inside a of a cell, bacteriophages have host cells and new virions are produced from original phages. The treatment remains effective as long asking the phages use the host cells’ energy and machinery to produce more phages that are specific for fighting off bacteria.
Why is it difficult to find the exact phage needed to treat?
It may be difficult to find the exact phage needed to treat an infection. Phages may trigger the immune system to overreact or cause an imbalance. Some types of phages don’t work as well as other kinds to treat bacterial infections. There may not be enough kinds of phages to treat all bacterial infections.
What is the success rate of phage treatment with antibiotics?
Phages only, n = 360, 86% success; antibiotics only, n = 404, 48% success; antibiotics plus phages, n = 576, 83% success Kochetkova et al.
How long does phage therapy take to work?
It’s not known how long phage therapy may take to work.
What are the benefits of phage therapy?
Phage therapy benefits. The benefits of phage therapy address the shortcomings of antibiotics. Just as there are many kinds of bacteria, there are several types of bacteriophages. But each kind of phage will only attack a certain bacterium. It won’t infect other kinds of bacteria.
What is a phage used for?
This means that a phage can be used to directly target disease-causing bacteria. For example, a strep bacteriophage will only kill bacteria that cause strep throat infections. Phages work against both treatable and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. They may be used alone or with antibiotics and other drugs.
Why are phages used in experimental studies?
One reason for this is because antibiotics are more easily available and are considered to be safer to use. There is ongoing research on the best way to use bacteriophages in people and animals. The safety of phage therapy also needs more research.
Why is phage therapy used in food?
Phage therapy in food prevents bacteria that can cause food poisoning, such as: Salmonella.
Why are phages added to processed foods?
The phages are added to some processed foods to help prevent bacterial growth.
How many viruses can a phage make?
The phage virus copies itself (reproduces) inside the bacteria. This can make up to 1000 new viruses in each bacterium. Finally, the virus breaks open the bacteria, releasing the new bacteriophages.
How long have phages been used?
Phages as bactericidal agents have been employed for 90 years as a means of treating bacterial infections in humans as well as other species, a process known as phage therapy. In this review we explore both the early historical and more modern use of phages to treat human infections. We discuss in particular the little-reviewed French early work, along with the Polish, US, Georgian and Russian historical experiences. We also cover other, more modern examples of phage therapy of humans as differentiated in terms of disease. In addition, we provide discussions of phage safety, other aspects of phage therapy pharmacology, and the idea of phage use as probiotics.
How to use phages for skin infections?
Gougerot and Peyre55describe d the treatment of skin infections using phages, with particular emphasis on recurrent furunculosis. Local treatment was best, but each pustule needed to be opened with a phage-containing syringe. Then a pad moistened with phage was rubbed over the area and a compress dampened with phage was used as the dressing. The next day they observed that each pustule had increased in size and was surrounded by an indurated, red zone of inflammation. But after 48 hours, the lesions would dry up and disappear. They repeated this every two days for new or overlooked pustules, with improvement in nearly all cases. After eight or ten applications, most of the patients were cured. In cases of bacterial infection of the dermis and epidermis, such as impetigo, they recommended unroofing the lesions, removing the crusts, opening bullous lesions and rubbing a bit roughly in order to introduce the phages into the skin, then applying a large compress moistened with the same bacteriophages. As with abscesses, it was helpful to advise the patient to expect a worsening of inflammation in the first 24 hours, prior to improvement.
How do phages work?
As typically practiced, phages then lyse those bacteria, releasing virion progeny that can continue the cycle, including migrating to other sites of infection anywhere in the body. The actual phage-mediated bacterial killing, however, occurs well prior to the lysis step—e.g., such as in the first minutes of infection for a phage such as phage T4 1—as the phage converts the cell into a factory for making new phages. Phages are unique among antibacterial agents in their ability to increase their numbers when in the presence of bacterial targets. Of similar importance, phages only minimally impact non-target bacteria or body tissues. A more complete list of advantages associated with phage therapy, relative particularly to chemical antibacterials, is presented in this issue2and elsewhere.3Here we review the potential for phages to treat bacterial infections afflicting humans. Other therapeutic applications, such as in veterinary medicine, have been reviewed in reference 4, and will be also covered in future issues of this journal. Other reviews focusing on various aspects of human phage therapy are also available.3,5–11
What was the bacteriophage used for in 1961?
Vieu59of the Bacteriophages Service of the Pasteur Institute summarized the fundamentals of phage therapy in France at that time, noting that bacteriophage were particularly useful in the treatment of Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas, Proteus and coliforms. His key points about their approach included statements that:
What infections can bacteriophage cure?
Lang et al.48reported the use of bacteriophage in seven patients with chronic orthopedic infections with resistant organisms. They were able to cure two cases of hip prostheses infected with gram-negative bacteria (after removal of the prostheses), one case of tibial osteomyelitis due to Proteus, Staphylococcus aureusand Klebsiella; one case of septic arthritis of the knee due to Enterobacter and Staphylococcus aureus, and one case of septic non-union of the femur due to pan-resistant Providencia. A surgical site infection associated with Harrington rods also showed improvement: The staphylococcal infection was eradicated, but the Pseudomonas infection persisted. One case of a post-traumatic septic knee, with variable flora associated with a chronic pseudomonal infection, however, relapsed after apparent improvement and was counted as a failure.
What was the phage therapy journal in 1936?
A full 1936 monograph issue of the journal La Médicinein 1936 was devoted to phage therapy. Its individual reviews give detailed data on the treatment of such conditions as typhoid fever, acute colitis, peritonitis, prostate and urinary tract infections, furunculosis, sepsis and otolaryngology. For example:
When were phages discovered?
The viruses of bacteria were discovered in 1915 by Frederick Twort.12The “bacteriophage” era, however, did not begin until the seminal publication demonstrating “un bactériophage obligatoire” by Félix d'Hérelle in 1917.13Microbiologists subsequently began to incorporate the idea of phages into their world view, with phage therapy almost immediately coming to play a central role in the development of the field. Indeed, one can readily trace the progression of phage biology as starting with an early, enthusiastic period during which claims were excessive and often unrealistic, while at the same time little was understood of the viral nature of phages or their strengths and limitations (early 1920s into the 1930s). An important exception to these concerns, most closely associated with the concept of phage therapy as practiced during these early years, and as formulated in impressive detail, is the work of Felix d'Hérelle (see “France,” below).
Why is phage therapy so difficult?
That’s because phage therapy is almost 100 years old, making it difficult to patent and generate revenue to justify the initial development costs.
When were phages first used?
The first known therapeutic use of phages occurred in 1919, when d'Herelle and several hospital interns ingested a phage cocktail to check its safety, then gave it to a 12-year-old boy with severe dysentery. The boy’s symptoms cleared up after a single dose and he fully recovered within a few days.
How many types of phages are there?
Thousands of varieties of phage exist, each evolved to infect only one type or a few types of bacteria. Like other viruses, they cannot replicate by themselves, but must commandeer the reproductive machinery of bacteria. To do so, they attach to a bacterium and insert their genetic material. Lytic phages then destroy the cell, splitting it open to release new viral particles, which in turn infect more bacteria.
What was the bacteriophage used for?
At Yale University, a bacteriophage taken from a local pond was recently used to treat a life-threatening bacterial infection in an 80-year-old man’s chest. That case, described in the May 26, 2016 issue of Scientific Reports, is similar to the UC San Diego treatment of Tom Patterson, but only in the sense that they both used bacteriophages. Success in the Yale case appears to have relied upon the conversion of the bacteria ( Pseudomonas aeruginosa) to an antibiotic-sensitive strain.
What was the purpose of the phages?
In the 1940s, the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly produced phages for human use in the U.S., and they were marketed to treat a range of bacterial infections, including in wounds and upper respiratory infections.
Where do bacteriophages come from?
Derived from the Greek words meaning “bacteria eater,” bacteriophages are abundant everywhere — on land, in water, within any form of life harboring their target. According to Forest Rowher, PhD, a microbial ecologist at San Diego State University, and colleagues in their book Life in Our Phage World, phages cause a trillion trillion successful ...
Where did phage therapy fall out of favor?
Phage therapy fell out of favor in the U.S. and most of Europe with the advent of antibiotics. Only in regions where antibiotics were not as easily accessed — namely what is now Russia, Poland and the Republic of Georgia — did phage therapy and commercial production continue.
How many times a year did cholera strike?
It was cholera season again. Cholera struck twice a year; once after the springtime run-off from the high Himalayas, and once after the monsoons. Dinesh was walking home from the fi elds when his friend, a merchant at the lassi stand, called him over.
Is phage therapy approved for human use?
Phage therapy is not an approved treatment for human use in North America. It has yet to pass a rigorous clinical trial to show its eff ectiveness. Some pharmaceutical companies are showing interest in developing it, but phage therapy off ers a few challenges. First, since phages only kill specifi c bacteria, phage therapy is an extremely individualized treatment. Bacteria must be isolated from the patient and an appropriate virus found. Th is runs contrary to the current pharmaceutical company model, which is based on the mass production and marketing of products that work for everyone. In addition, given the individualized nature of the cure, it is very di cult to patent each virus used. Th e patent process ensures that the companies that develop these treatments can recuperate their costs. Finally, such individualized treatment would require a fundamental shift in our medical practices, which is geared towards