Phage therapy: Why viruses could be the medicine of the future - BBC Science Focus Magazine

Are viruses the cardinal to warring infections?

Yes and no. There are immoderate viruses that are solely designed to combat bacterial infections, called bacteriophages (phages). These viruses connect to bacterial cells and inject their genome into the cell. The bacteria past produces the viral genome alternatively of its own, and this interferes with its quality to function, efficaciously halting the bacterial infection.

There are thought to beryllium billions of phages connected Earth; they person co-evolved with the bacteria they prey connected for millennia, keeping their numbers nether control.

Phage therapy is the usage of progressive phages to termination bacteria that origin quality diseases portion leaving different bacteria unaffected. Phages person been astir for a agelong clip – they were officially discovered successful 1915-17 and they person been utilized ever since arsenic therapeutics, particularly successful countries similar Russia, Belgium and Georgia. The crushed wherefore phage therapy was abandoned was mostly due to the fact that of the find of antibiotics. But present determination is simply a batch of anticipation that phages could assistance to destruct antibiotic-resistant strains of immoderate of the astir resilient superbugs successful existence.

However, determination are respective obstacles to utilizing phage therapy much widely. Phages are circumstantial to peculiar bacteria, and those bacteria tin germinate resistance. And it is proving challenging to recreate the mode viruses behave successful the assemblage successful laboratory environments. However, it is an breathtaking tract to ticker retired for, and probe is evolving to research imaginable applications.

Time volition archer whether these viruses are the cardinal to warring infection.

Read more:

• The champion mode to termination a superbug? Weaponise a virus
• How bash viruses marque america ill?
• Am I much bacteria than human?
• The quality virome: The trillions of viruses wrong your assemblage keeping you alive

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Dr Nish Manek is simply a GP successful London. She completed her aesculapian grade astatine Imperial College and was runner-up successful the University of London Gold Medal. Manek has besides developed teaching courses for Oxford Medical School, and has penned articles for The Guardian and Pulse magazine.