Published in Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
Impact factor 2.83
Using bacteriophage (viruses that are “fed” on bacteria) to face antibiotics resistant bacteria
Within the framework of developing a new therapeutic approach to deal with infectious diseases, and combine using antibiotics and bacteriophage or the viruses that are fed on bacteria, Dr. Ramy Karam Aziz, head of Microbiology and Immunology Research Program in Hospital 57357, co-authored a review article that describes in detail the steps for choosing the suitable bacteriophages, isolating them and analyzing their genetic code to specify their uses.
According to Dr. Aziz, who has been working on the genomic analysis of these bacteriophages since 2005, fighting infectious diseases passed through many stages, starting by discovering sulfa drugs in the beginning of the twentieth century, then discovering antibiotics in the first quarter of the twentieth century, which was then a big therapeutic revolution. Before scientists claimed victory over all types of bacteria, the dream faded out because of the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. As years passed, many diseases appeared, and using antibiotics increased, this problem was multiplied. With the beginning of the 21st century, superbugs (antibiotic-resistant bacteria) became a serious threat, as some studies say they will cause mortality more than cancer by 2050.
This problem invited scientists to go back to studies that started more than a hundred years ago and was stopped because of the appearance of antibiotics. One of the most important studies was using bacteriophages, which are called “viruses” not because they cause sickness to humans but because they follow viruses’ strategy in occupying certain cells and using them to reproduce. In this case, bacteriophages occupy bacterial cells and use them to produce bacteriophage that feed on the bacteria.
The big challenge in this therapeutic approach is to find and isolate the bacteriophages suitable for each type of bacteria, especially as they are highly specialized. Each type of bacteria is attacked by a number of bacteriophages, sometimes the bacteriophage may attack only certain strains of the same bacteria, added Dr. Aziz. Hence was the idea of this review article, as it saves time and effort for scientists by illustrating the steps of choosing these viruses or bacteriophages, their isolation steps, determining their genetic code, and comparing between them to choose the most suitable one.
About the current uses for this approach, Dr. Aziz says that some countries currently use it for treating wound and skin infections. In Georgia and Poland they started launching a center for this therapy through combining it with antibiotics. “I think this therapeutic approach will have great importance in the future, especially with the increasing problem of antibiotic resistance, which it will hopefully solve, knowing that we depend on combining between antibiotics and bacteriophage to realize the best results.”