title: Facing antibiotic resistance: Staphylococcus aureus phages as a medical tool.
abstract: Staphylococcus aureus is a common and often virulent pathogen in humans. This bacterium is widespread, being present on the skin and in the nose of healthy people. Staphylococcus aureus can cause infections with severe outcomes ranging from pustules to sepsis and death. The introduction of antibiotics led to a general belief that the problem of bacterial infections would be solved. Nonetheless, pathogens including staphylococci have evolved mechanisms of drug resistance. Among current attempts to address this problem, phage therapy offers a promising alternative to combat staphylococcal infections. Here, we present an overview of current knowledge on staphylococcal infections and bacteriophages able to kill Staphylococcus, including experimental studies and available data on their clinical use.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. R. Weigla 12, Wroclaw 53-114, Poland. zuzanna.kazmierczak@iitd.pan.wroc.pl.
authors.forename: Zuzanna
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kaźmierczak
authors.affiliation: Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. R. Weigla 12, Wroclaw 53-114, Poland. gorski@iitd.pan.wroc.pl.
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Górski
authors.affiliation: Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. R. Weigla 12, Wroclaw 53-114, Poland. dabrok@iitd.pan.wroc.pl.
authors.forename: Krystyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dąbrowska
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000379:methods*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008242:Lysogeny / Q000502:physiology*; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000628:therapy*; D013204:Staphylococcus Phages / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents