WHO: Bacteriophages and their use in combating antimicrobial resistance
Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that selectively target and kill bacteria. They are the most abundant, commonly occurring natural entities, playing crucial roles in regulating bacterial populations and influencing microbial ecosystems.
Phages are useful as they can destroy bacteria resistant to drugs such as antibiotics. Phages infect their bacterial hosts with great specificity. They do not infect human cells.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a serious global threat to our ability to treat bacterial infections. New antibiotics have often proved difficult and expensive to develop. This has led to an interest in an older approach to treating microbial infections by using phages. Phage therapy can be a promising tool for controlling AMR, which is one of the top global public health and development threats.
In the WHO European Region, AMR is directly responsible for 133,000 deaths each year and indirectly linked to 541,000 deaths. Estimates show that AMR costs the European Union and European Economic Area about €11.7 billion annually due to health expenditure and workforce productivity losses.
Addressing AMR requires a multifaceted approach that considers the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health, known as the One Health approach. Phages provide biologically innovative approaches to addressing the challenge of AMR across sectors, ranging from therapeutic use in humans and animals to potentially replacing antibiotic use in the agricultural industry.
Currently, phages are primarily used on compassionate grounds, in life-threatening situations, when all other treatments have been exhausted.
Further evidence from clinical studies is needed before phages can become widely available for human use. Phage application and therapy require robust evidence to support its efficacy, safety, and feasibility across all One Health sectors.
PHAGElogist 