Phage Therapy Could Beat Drug-Resistant Illnesses

Treatment first used in the early 20th century is showing promise against deadly infections .. By Charles Schmidt

Bobby Burgholzer has cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that throughout his life has made him vulnerable to bacterial infections in his lungs. Until a few years ago antibiotics held his symptoms mostly at bay, but then the drugs stopped working as well, leaving the 40-year-old medical device salesman easily winded and discouraged. He had always tried to keep fit and played hockey, but he was finding it harder by the day to climb hills or stairs. As his condition worsened, Burgholzer worried about having a disease with no cure. He had a wife and young daughter he wanted to live for. So he started looking into alternative treatments, and one captured his attention: a virus called a bacteriophage.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/phage-therapy-could-beat-drug-resistant-illnesses/