How naturally occurring viruses could help treat superbug infections | CNN
Phages are naturally occurring viruses that infect and kill bacteria. CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta meets the researchers scouring the world to see if phages could be the key to treating antibiotic resistant infections.
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Antibiotic resistance bacteria: a global health threat.
UC San Diego Health phage therapy patient Tom Patterson and wife, Steffanie Strathdee, in November 2015, vacationing in Egypt just days before Patterson contracted a multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii infection.
Tom’s condition turns critical as he fights for his life against a multi drug resistant superbug, A.baumannii.
Microscopic view of bacteriophage.
Electron micrograph of bacteriophages (green) attacking a bacterium (orange). Credit: Dr Graham Beards/Wikipeda Commons
Bacteriophages infecting bacteria, computer illustration. The tail injects the genetic material into the bacterium, and the cellular machinery of the bacterium is used to produce more copies of the virus.
Tom Patterson recovering at Thornton Hospital at UC San Diego Health in July 2016, four months after phage therapy and eight months after he initially contracted a multi-drug resistant bacterial infection in Egypt.
Tom Patterson and wife, Steffanie Strathdee, at home in December 2016, nine months after phage therapy at UC San Diego Health and 13 months since he contracted a multi-drug resistant bacterial infection in Egypt.
“Steffanie and Tom provide a refreshing perspective on the looming pandemic of antimicrobial resistance, clearly demonstrating this is about real people’s lives, and that the field needs some serious out of the box thinking.”
Peter Piot, MD, PhD, Director, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Author of “No Time to Lose: A Life in Pursuit of Deadly Viruses”
Peter Piot, MD, PhD, Director, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Author of “No Time to Lose: A Life in Pursuit of Deadly Viruses”
Steven Johnson, author of The Ghost Map
Steven Johnson, author of The Ghost Map
Richard Horton, FRCP, FMedSci, Editor-in-Chief, The Lancet
Richard Horton, FRCP, FMedSci, Editor-in-Chief, The Lancet
Publisher's Weekly Starred Review
Publisher's Weekly Starred Review
Kirkus
Kirkus
Bill Rambo, The Laureate Academy in St. Norbert
Bill Rambo, The Laureate Academy in St. Norbert
Tess Gerritsen
NYT-bestselling author of THE SHAPE OF NIGHT
Tess Gerritsen
NYT-bestselling author of THE SHAPE OF NIGHT
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