What is needed for phage therapy to become a reality in Western medicine?
The current status of phage therapy approaches is reviewed and possible hurdles to a practical medical application of bacteriophages in Western countries are identified as discussed at a recent EMBO meeting on "Viruses of Microbes" in Brussels. In view of the growing antibiotic resistance crisis, a coordinated effort by the public health sector is needed to evaluate the potential of phage therapy as an adjunct to antibiotics.
Nestlé Research Center, Vers-chez-les-Blanc, CH-1000 Lausanne-26, Switzerland. harald.bruessow@rdls.nestle.com
Harald
H
Brüssow
D000818:Animals; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000628:therapy / Q000662:veterinary*; D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000254:growth & development*; D001691:Biological Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000639:trends; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D008511:Medicine / Q000639:trends; D014730:Veterinary Medicine / Q000639:trends