“Rediscovering Phage Therapy: The Bacteria-Eating Viruses That Can Revolutionize Medicine”

2023-04-19 12:09:57

Bacteriophages are bacteria-eating viruses, with each phage specializing in a specific bacterium. They do not attack human, animal or plant cells. Phages were already discovered at the beginning of the 20th century. At that time they were used to treat gastroenteric infections such as cholera and Shigella dysentery. With the discovery of penicillin, therapy with phages fell into oblivion in Western Europe, while it was used and further developed in Eastern Europe, especially in Georgia.

Phage therapy is not approved in Germany, but may be used if antibiotics are no longer effective. However, there is still no legal framework for the use of phages in the EU. Although the EU participates in research studies, there is a lack of legal certainty for researchers, manufacturers, doctors and patients. The National Center for Phage Therapy at the Hannover Medical School is one of the few centers that use phages. The rediscovered phage therapy has been further developed since 2016. This includes identifying new candidates and improving patient delivery.

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#Antibiotics #effect #viruses #resistant #pathogens