Antimicrobial resistance: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 07:17, 29 January 2007

Revision as of 07:18, 29 January 2007

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===Phage therapy===

[[Phage therapy]] is an approach that has been extensively researched and utilized as a therapeutic agent for over 60 years including in the United States, as an alternative that might help with the problem of resistance in surface infection. Bacteriophages or "phage" are viruses that invade bacterial cells and, in the case of lytic phages, disrupt bacterial metabolism and cause the bacterium to lyse [destruct]. Phage Therapy is the therapeutic use of lytic bacteriophages to treat pathogenic bacterial infections.

Bacteriophage therapy is an important alternative to antibiotics in the current era of multidrug resistant pathogens. A review of studies that dealt with the therapeutic use of phages from 1966-1996 and few latest ongoing phage therapy projects via internet showed: phages were used topically, orally or systemically in Polish and Soviet studies. The success rate found in these studies was 80-95% with few gastrointeslinal or allergic side effects. British studies also demonstrated significant efficacy of phages against Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter spp., Pseudomonas spp and Staphylococcus aureus. US studies dealt with improving the bioavailability of phage. Phage therapy may prove as an important alternative to antibiotics for treating multidrug resistant pathogens.<ref>{{cite journal | title= Bacteriophage therapy: an alternative to conventional antibiotics. | author=Mathur MD, Vidhani S, Mehndiratta PL.| journal=J Assoc Physicians India | year=2003 | volume=51 | pages=593-6 | url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=15266928&query_hl=13&itool=pubmed_docsum | PMID 15266928 }}</ref>