title: A historical overview of bacteriophage therapy as an alternative to antibiotics for the treatment of bacterial pathogens.
abstract: The seemingly inexorable spread of antibiotic resistance genes among microbial pathogens now threatens the long-term viability of our current antimicrobial therapy to treat severe bacterial infections such as sepsis. Antibiotic resistance is reaching a crisis situation in some bacterial pathogens where few therapeutic alternatives remain and pan-resistant strains are becoming more prevalent. Non-antibiotic therapies to treat bacterial infections are now under serious consideration and one possible option is the therapeutic use of specific phage particles that target bacterial pathogens. Bacteriophage therapy has essentially been re-discovered by modern medicine after widespread use of phage therapy in the pre-antibiotic era lost favor, at least in Western countries, after the introduction of antibiotics. We review the current therapeutic rationale and clinical experience with phage therapy as a treatment for invasive bacterial infection as novel alternative to antimicrobial chemotherapy.
authors: Critical Care Department; St Luc University Hospital; Université Catholique de Louvain; Brussels, Belgium.
authors: Xavier
authors: X
authors: Wittebole
authors: High Care Burn Unit; Military Hospital; Brussels, Belgium.
authors: Sophie
authors: S
authors: De Roock
authors: The Infectious Disease Division; Memorial Hospital of RI; Providence, RI USA; The Alpert Medical School of Brown University; Providence, RI USA.
authors: Steven M
authors: SM
authors: Opal
mesh_terms: D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000628:therapy*; D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000145:classification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D001691:Biological Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D018805:Sepsis / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000628:therapy*
keywords: bacteriophage therapy; multidrug resistant pathogens; phage therapy; sepsis; septic shock
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