Lakhasly

Two years later the French physician Felix d'Herelle nticed that a bacteria-free filtrate prepared from the stools of French troops who were recovering from dysentery had the ability to kill the bacteria that cause dysentery.For example, the food industry is currently exploring the use of bacteriophages to disinfect foods, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a physician-initiated trial to determine whether a bacteriophage cocktail can effectively destroy Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas, and Escherichia coli in skin wounds and burns.Now that so many bacterial pathogens have become antibiotic-resistant there is renewed interest in the potential of bacteriophages to prevent or treat bacte rial diseases.Although initial clinical trials appeared to offer some support for this idea, more extensive clinical studies did not produce reproducible cures.

Two years later the French physician Felix d'Herelle nticed that a bacteria-free filtrate prepared from the stools of French troops who were recovering from dysentery had the ability to kill the bacteria that cause dysentery. Further studies showed the filterable agent caused turbid (cloudy) bacterial cultures to become clear almost as if the agent were eat ing the bacteria. For this reason d'Herelle called the agent a bacteriophage (Gr. phago, to eat). This term, and its shortened version phage, remains in common use for bacterial viruses to this day. d'Herelle thought bac teriophages might be used to treat bacterial infections. Although initial clinical trials appeared to offer some support for this idea, more extensive clinical studies did not produce reproducible cures.

The failure of bacteriophages to cure bacterial diseases was due in part to the appearance of phage-resistant bacterial mutants and in part to the destruction of the bacteriophages by the patients' immune or digestive systems. With the discovery of antibiotics, interest in using bac teriophages to treat bacterial infections waned, and very little was done to pursue this clinical application for many years. Now that so many bacterial pathogens have become antibiotic-resistant there is renewed interest in the potential of bacteriophages to prevent or treat bacte rial diseases. For example, the food industry is currently exploring the use of bacteriophages to disinfect foods, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a physician-initiated trial to determine whether a bacteriophage cocktail can effectively destroy Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas, and Escherichia coli in skin wounds and burns.