A bacteriophage, also known informally as a phage, is a virus that infects and replicates within bacteria and archaea. The term was derived from “bacteria” and the Greek φαγεῖν (phagein), “to devour”. Bacteriophages are viruses selectively devouring only pathogenic bacteria. They are among the most common and diverse entities in the biosphere, ubiquitous viruses, found wherever bacteria exist and acting as natural antibacterial agents or bacteria’s natural predators. Phages can be found in seawater, rivers, soil, air, plants, animals, sewage, and other places bacteria live.

Bacteriophage therapy is the use of “good” viruses (bacterial viruses) to treat antibiotic-resistant or chronic bacterial infections. The bacterial virus acts directly and exclusively on the target bacteria to destroy it through a process called “lysis”. Nowadays phage therapy is commonly referred to as “bright hope in the age of increasing antibiotic resistance”. «Read More»

Félix d’Hérelle, the French-Canadian microbiologist, has been credited with the invention of phage therapy. He discovered a special kind of antagonistic microbe capable of eradicating bacteria and called the virus a bacteriophage, a bacteria-eater. Bacteriophage therapy is the use of “good” viruses (bacterial viruses) to treat antibiotic-resistant or chronic bacterial infections. The bacterial virus acts directly and exclusively on the target bacteria to destroy it through a process called “lysis”. When the phage virus infects the bacteria, it reproduces itself inside the bacteria very quickly, releasing dozens of new bacteriophages until all the bacteria are lysed. Once all the bacteria are dead, bacteriophages will stop multiplying. They can only multiply and grow inside a bacterium. This makes phage therapy absolutely harmless – it does not have any side effects for human organisms since each phage acts directly and exclusively on the target bacteria to eliminate it. However, this peculiarity of bacteriophages makes it necessary to conduct personalized comprehensive medical examinations (initial bacterial analysis, phage sensitivity testing, etc.) to find the exact phage needed to treat infection and suggest a highly individualized treatment plan. Only appropriate bacteriophages are capable of completely destroying pathogenic microorganisms. «Read More»