As a result, germs have made a comeback. So-called superbugs, bacteria that are resistant to one or more antibiotics, are on the rise across the United States. These bacteria used to be confined to hospital wards, but they are increasingly seeping out into the environment, where they infect otherwise healthy adults and children. From 1999 to 2008, the rate of children admitted to hospitals with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), one of the strains that infected Bledsoe, has grown tenfold At the moment, there are still drugs to fight MRSA, but a growing number of bacteria are impervious to every antibiotic available. In a January, 2009 report, "Bad Bugs, No Drugs," the Infectious Diseases Society of America wrote, "There is an urgent, immediate need for new agents with activity against these panresistant organisms. There is no evidence that this need will be met in the foreseeable future."
Phage therapy holds potential as an important new weapon in the fight against superbugs. Rediscovered in the West in the mid-1990s, the treatment has brought a steady stream of venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and physicians through the Eliava Institute's derelict halls. Independently and with the help of specialists there, Western biotechnology companies are exploring ways of using phage to battle these deadly infections.
Once dismissed as a backward treatment, phage therapy has gained important ground in the last several years. In 2009, British company Biocontrol Limited completed the first double-blind clinical trials showing that phage therapy is safe and effective for the treatment of chronic, antibiotic resistant ear infections. The United States Army has funded research into whether phages can heal some of the hardest to treat wound infections in Iraq war veterans. Meat and seafood companies are spraying the viruses on their equipment to protect consumers from foodborne illness. And researchers are exploring ways that phages can treat illnesses as diverse as lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients, breast infections in nursing mothers, sinusitis and urinary tract infections. In some ways, phages fit perfectly with the current conventional wisdom that simple and natural products can sometimes top artificial and chemically enhanced ones; one company has had its phages certified organic, Kosher and Halal.
Phages are no magic bullet. Critics point out that they can cause disease as well as cure it. By mingling their own genes with those of bacteria, phages have given rise to some of our deadliest pathogens, including toxin-producing Corynebacterium diphtheriae, which cause diphtheria; and E. coli 0157, which causes severe food poisoning. Proponents counter that they have the technology to screen out these rogue phages. Like antibiotics, phages breed resistance, though isolating a new phage can be faster and cheaper than synthesizing a new antibiotic. Finally, some see phage therapy as a cultish phenomenon backed by weak science. But the current crop of biotech startups is beginning to prove them wrong.
"The Forgotten Cure" traces the story of phages from Paris, where they were discovered in 1917; to Tbilisi, Georgia, where one of phage therapy's earliest proponents died at the hands of Stalin; to the Nobel podium, where prominent scientists have been recognized for breakthroughs stemming from phage research. In the present day, the book closely follows the founders of two biotechnology companies specializing in phage therapy as they navigate the difficult path to FDA approval.
The treatment stands at the crossroads of two vastly different medical cultures. To the East: the former Soviet Union, which long provided free but substandard medical care. To the West: the United States, which offers superior medical care that not everyone can afford. Americans are accustomed to high-tech treatments and rapid-fire cures, which phage therapy won't necessarily deliver. Pharmaceutical and biotech companies, in order to keep the flow of innovation coming, expect vast profits.
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Add Comment"Meat and seafood companies are spraying the viruses on their equipment to protect consumers from foodborne illness."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThat's exactly the sort of overuse/misuse which has led to so much antibiotic resistance - those bacteria which are susceptible to that specific phage mix will perish and leave the food for other bacteria which are not susceptible to that specific phage mix.
Speaking of overuse/misuse: Can you say "I Am Legend"? Let's keep playing with bugs...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAlarmists aside, Phages are inherently a superior solution to antibiotics because they are at least theoretically capable of co-evolving in order to counter the increased resistance of their target bacteria. Whereas antibiotics require billions of dollars of funding and a monolithic industry in order to keep up with the arms race between humans and little critters, phages could conceivably keep up essentially for free -- provided the scientists are paying attention.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI agree with you, and even can see other advantages. What really worries me, though, is that we won't resist the itch to 'improve' the viruses and/or change them for use in other areas. Once we find a good idea, we do tend to abuse it - push it until some damage is done, somewhere. And even then, if it's already a good enough business, not back up again. Plenty of examples in today's world, right? Plastic? Fishing? Oil and coal? Antibiotics!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGreat idea alright, but a bit scary if you think beyond what it CAN do, and into what we USUALLY do...
The alarm is unwarranted. Currently there are no known bacterium that are resistant to phage viruses. I use "currently" loosely to all but eliminate all future instances of phage resistant bacterium. I am afraid to say it will never happen, in the same way most people say cold fusion will never happen.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou misunderstand my point and resistance. Phages are extremely specific to which bacterial strains they will infect, so if a phage mix is overused as in the example, although the target bacteria will be wiped out, it simply opens the door for other bacteria, not targeted by the phage to take over that niche. If you want to look at it as developing resistance, OK, it only takes a few mutations to turn one bacterial strain into another which would not be targeted by the same phage.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAllanRBrewer is spot on. The phages are specific, but are not perfect killers. Sometimes the DNA packets are transferred to a bacterium which then gives the resulting bacteria new facets. The VTEC E.coli seem to be an example. Let us use viruses, but also learn from the antibiotic lessons and also bear in mind that the use on animals has implications for humans. We need a scientifically based approvals system for proper use by the proper people. Now is the time to do something, not when the first problems appear. Phages offer a great opportunity; don't let us waste it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA couple of points worth mentioning: 1. The battle between bacteria and phage has been going on for the last 3 ½ billion years, without any know diminishment of bacteria or phage. Yes, they do co-evolve. 2. The idea that phage treatment on food will actually eliminate a serotype is fanciful. A serotype could develop resistant, but since food producers constantly monitor production for pathogens, efficacy is restored by swapping out one or more monophages in the cocktail. Regulatory approval of the FDA’s first phage-based food additive, ListShield™, specifically permits replacing monophages to sustain efficacy. I should note that since ListShield’s production began in 2006, not one case of resistance has been reported by its users. 3. We ingest phages all the time. Every fresh salad, glass of spring water, of food exposed for any appreciable amount of time contains or is covered by phage. Unfortunately, they are randomly specific and usually cannot ward off an attack by food borne pathogens. 4. Transferring DNA packets only apply to lysogenic phages, which will not be approved by regulatory authorities. Food safety phages are composed of lytic phages. 5. Finally, rather than chemical sanitizers, phages are safe and natural. Products in use today are kosher, halal and OMRI (Organic Materials Research Institute) listed and they substantially reduce the use of water in food processing facilities.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGood points about overuse. Thoughtless and indiscriminate use of anything is not wise. One possible counter to that argument is that "excessive" use can create new phages that are deadly to the new bacteria. We shall see. I think our best best is balance and moderation in whatever course we take, including our own relationship with our personal biota.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe only comment here that seems to come from someone who knows more about phages that only what's written in this article is the one from Safety-by-Nature.
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