Bacteriophages:stopping the next pandemic before it happens

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Covid-19 may finally be on the wane, but how would you feel if we told you that there are worse pandemics out there, waiting to happen? Because before Covid, during and after, lies the threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The alpha and the omega of pandemics. Long sufferering readers on LSS will recall our interest in this chilling theme,as well as allusions we have made to both bacteriophages and CRISPR. (LSS passim) Now there’s real hope that someone is to bringing all this together to deal with antibiotic resistant organisms before they pose a real threat.

For newer readers: a bacteriophage is just a type of virus that kills bacteria insted of us. Find the right one and it will kill dangerous bacteria as quickly as lions going through a herd of wildebeest. The technique was successfully pioneered over a hundred years ago. But it was eclipsed. by antibiotics, especially in the west Time for a comeback! Kevin Doxzen, writing in The Conversation tells of how, using the new CRISPR technology, a phage has been engineered to attack Clostridioides difficile. Because this bacterium is antibiotic resistant, it is now killing 29 000 people a year in the USA alone. Or it was until CRISPR bioengineers came along.

We know you like good news, gentle readers. Here thanks to basic science R&D, is some really good news. But science needs money, and it takes time. Next time someone tells you only the balance sheet counts, tell them about this.

Engineered viruses can fight the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (theconversation.com)

Bacteriophages – an overview | ScienceDirect Topics

#phages #antibioticresistance #gramnegative #covid-19 #bacteria #medicine

There are many ways to contend with antibiotic resistance. In the UK the charity antibiotic resistance UK is leading the fight like no other! Please help by clicking below

Antibiotic Research UK | Fighting Antibiotic Resistance