2.1 Phage therapy
Phage therapy to treat bacterial infections exploits the bactericidal lysis step of bacteriophage infection to kill bacteria. It was first developed more than 90 years ago by researchers in the former Soviet Union and is routinely used to treat chronic infections in former Soviet states such as Georgia. In the next activity, you will look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of this treatment.
Activity 3 The advantages and disadvantages of phage therapy
Allow about 10 minutes
Listen to the following interview with Martha Clokie, a phage researcher, who discusses the advantages and disadvantages of phage therapy. While you are listening, note down any advantages and disadvantages of phage therapy in Table 1 below. You may also like to think about any ways in which phage therapy is similar to and different from antibiotic treatment.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Similarities to antibiotic treatment | Differences from antibiotic treatment |
Historically, phage therapy has relied on identifying bacteriophages that target the infection-causing bacteria and then administering these bacteriophages to infect and lyse the bacterial cells. However, more recently, the isolation of phage-derived enzymes known as lysins has opened the possibility of developing new phage-based pharmaceuticals.
OpenLearn - Understanding antibiotic resistance
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