Utilizing phage therapy to overcome antibiotic resistance

Abstract

Antibiotics are the primary, and arguably only, form of antimicrobial therapy against a pathogenic bacterial infection. With well over 250 million prescriptions written each year, it is clear that the health and well being of society is depending on the efficacy of antibiotic prescriptions. Based on their overarching mechanism of action, each class of antibiotics can be split into bactericidal or bacteriostatic categories, which either inhibits cellular growth and replication or decreases the viability of the bacterial cell. Although antibiotics have been proven to be successful in treating infections, things such as bacterial resistance mechanisms, adverse effects caused by antibiotics, and injudicious prescribing have led to a decrease in efficacy of the antibiotics we depend on and an increase in bacterial resistance. In order to combat this, a new form of antimicrobial therapy needs to be sought out. The use of bacteriophages in phage therapy could be a promising form of antimicrobial therapy. Backed by multiple studies, lytic bacteriophages can be used to target infections that are resistant to antibiotics, without targeting human cells or causing adverse effects, making them a promising candidate for the next antimicrobial therapy.