An All-But-Forgotten Use Of Biological Killers May Help Beat Superbugs

[Julieanne]

Doug Hendrie
January 22 2019

Bacteriophage viruses seek out and kill specific bacteria – even drug-resistant strains.

Sewage water samples from around Australia arrive at Monash University every three months. Researchers blend the samples together to create a nasty cocktail. They then spike the mix with something that keeps doctors up at night – strains of bacteria most at risk of becoming multi-drug resistant. They incubate the blend and leave it overnight, waiting for the next day to see what’s happened. The bacterial population has usually taken a severe hit, burst open from within by bacteriophages, alien-looking hunter–killer viruses specialised to infect one specific strain of bacteria.

Read more: https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/cli...-biological-pr


Also of interest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTqJITdpMko

[Islander]

This is indeed encouraging news. As I understand it, the problem with phages is that there needs to be an exact match between the phage and the bacterium. The article seems to find a potential way around that. Let's hope so.

[Julieanne]

I can't post the TV programme I saw (Trust Me, I'm A Doctor) where one of the docs went to Georgia to look at phages. But the Youtube video is very similar and worth watching.

I first heard of these over 20 years ago, on a programme that showed people buying phages over the counter. Seems they are being taken seriously at last.