No Mom, It’s not JUST a Phage

Kathy Voong

“Did you wash your hands?” “Did you use antibacterial soap?” “You know that’s contributing to antibiotic resistance.”

Antibiotic resistance. You’ve probably heard that term before but do you know what it means? Some people say that because our society now uses so many antibacterial products, we are making bacteria become resistant to antibiotics.

Let’s first talk about what antibiotics are. Antibiotics are natural. Bacteria naturally make antibiotics, and the ones who make them are naturally resistant, or else they would die from it. All the antibiotics we currently have as medication to treat bacterial infections were discovered in bacteria that are already making them. However, the repeated use of antibiotics is killing the non-resistant bacteria and giving more space and resources to those that are resistant because they now no longer have competition. Also, some bacteria that were not resistant before have developed some resistance. This is a real problem, because bacterial infections are becoming increasingly difficult to treat as we are running out of known antibiotic options. Fortunately, we might have a solution.

Bacteriophages, or phages for short, are viruses that target and kill bacteria by breaking them open and were actually discovered before antibiotics. The idea of using phages to treat bacterial infections, a process known as bacteriophage therapy, is not a new one. It was briefly researched in the early 18th century and proved to be effective in the few trials that were done. After the discovery of penicillin, however, the scientific community slowly moved away from phage research and towards researching antibiotics.

Now with the rise of antibacterial resistance, scientists are beginning to revisit the idea, but there is some push back since we don’t know a lot about phages. The technology in the 1900s and the methods of the time only allowed research of phages to a certain extent and therefore affected the use of it as treatment. Some of the common problems researchers encountered then are solvable now given modern technology. For example, the phage cocktail that was made back then may be contaminated by other microbes or bacteria which can be avoided now since we have a better understanding of cleanliness and sterile lab practices. Research has found that phages are very specific and often target one type of bacteria while leaving others unharmed. This is useful compared to antibiotics that often will affect and kill a spectrum of bacteria, including the beneficial ones we need. When the phages have finished their job of killing the bacteria, they are simply excreted by the body. (1)

Recently, in March of 2016, Tom Patterson, PhD., a professor of psychiatry, received phage therapy after contracting an infection from a bacteria that is known to be very resistant to numerous drugs. Steffanie Strathdee, PhD., a dean of global health sciences of UC San Diego School of Medicine and Patterson’s wife, led the effort in using phage therapy to treat Patterson after getting emergency approval by the FDA. Three days after receiving treatment, he woke up after a months-long coma(2). Since then, there have been a few other experimental cases of phage treatments that were approved by the FDA for emergencies(3). They all appear to be successful so far.

As the dangers of antibacterial resistance increase each day, scientists and researchers are looking for alternative methods of treatment. It seems as though an old idea of bacteriophage therapy might prove to be effective and is worth looking into.

1 : Bacteriophage Therapy
2 : UCSD - Novel Phage Therapy Saves Patient with Multidrug-Resistant Bacterial Infection
3 : UCSD - Bacteriophage Therapy