Superbacteria Threat Looms, But Bacteriophage Therapy Offers Century-Long Hope
TEL AVIV – A growing crisis of antibiotic resistance threatens to cause over 10 million deaths annually by 2050, but new research into bacteriophage therapy-using viruses to combat bacteria-suggests a potential treatment pathway with a history spanning decades adn a possible future lasting another century.
Bacteria are increasingly resistant to antibiotics. Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance (Gram) Project data published in The Lancet reveals over one million people already die each year from antimicrobial resistance, encompassing resistance to antibiotics, antifungals, antiparasitics, and antivirals. Antibiotic use has risen by over 21% as 2016, exacerbating the problem.
However, scientists are exploring bacteriophages - viruses that infect and kill bacteria – as a potential solution. Researchers at Tel Aviv University have discovered that attacked bacteria can divide asymmetrically, allowing them to exclude the infected portion and preserve the rest of the cell.
“I discovered that the attacked bacteria can be divided asymmetrically, so thay can exclude the infected part and save the rest of the cell,” explained Microbiologist Sigal Ben-Yehuda, author of the study.
Understanding this mechanism is crucial for developing effective neutralization methods, researchers say, potentially through compounds that prevent bacterial sensor proteins from detecting the viral intruder.
Bacteriophage therapy can be administered in various forms, including pills, liquids, topical creams, sprays, dressings, and intravenous injections.
Last year, the therapy successfully treated Squeaks, a cat with a multi-drug resistant infection, in Israel. Veterinarians applied a customized bacteriophage mixture directly to the cat’s wound, alongside ineffective antibiotics, resulting in complete infection clearance and wound healing within weeks. This marked the first documented case of personalized bacteriophage therapy in animals.
While largely considered experimental in the Western world,bacteriophage therapy has been utilized for decades in countries like Georgia and Poland. The recent discoveries are fueling renewed research, offering hope that bacteriophage therapy could supplement or even replace antibiotics in treating persistent infections.