Possibilities of bacteriophage therapy
Skurnik, M.; Kiljunen, S.
Duodecim; Laaketieteellinen Aikakauskirja 132(8): 712-719
2016
ISSN/ISBN: 0012-7183 PMID: 27244930 Document Number: 687536
Antibiotic resistance of bacterial pathogens has increased, and new therapies are urgently needed. Bacteriophages (phages), viruses infecting and killing bacteria, are the most abundant organisms on earth. In nature there are several specific phages for every bacterium, controlling bacterial numbers and maintaining ecological balance. Phage therapy, i.e., treating bacterial infections with phages, offers an alternative complementary to antibiotics as phages infect and kill also multi-resistant bacteria. Phages possess narrow host specificity, each phage infecting only a few bacterial species or strains. Thereby phages do not harm the normal microbiota as antibiotics do. We aim to begin clinical trials of phage therapy in Finland.