Clostridium difficile cell with flagella – Inset shows virus infecting cell
Our researchers discover use for phages in fighting Clostridium difficile
A specialist team of scientists from our Department of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation has isolated viruses that eat bacteria – called phages – to specifically target the highly infectious hospital superbug Clostridium difficile (C. diff).
Since the discovery of the first antibiotic – penicillin – antibiotics have been heralded as the ‘silver bullets’ of medicine. They have saved countless lives and impacted on the well-being of humanity.
But less than a century following their discovery, the future impact of antibiotics is dwindling at a pace that no one anticipated, with more and more bacteria out-smarting and ‘out-evolving’ these miracle drugs. This has re-energised the search for new treatments, such as phages.
The key advantage of using phages over antibiotics lies in their specificity. A phage will infect and kill only a specific strain/species of bacteria. This is particularly important when treating conditions like C. diff infections.
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Phages
- Monash University-led Project Bioprospecting Viruses That Can Kill Deadly Superbugs
In a modern take on the Victorian gold rush, a Monash University-led project is successfully ‘bioprospecting’ for viruses known as phages that can kill deadly superbugs.The Monash Biomedicine ...
- Phage Cocktails and the Future of Phage Therapy
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- Taming T4: Artificial Viral Vectors Deliver Big Payloads into Human Cells
But having a mere eight-person lab (four post-docs, two graduate students, and two research technicians) hasn’t deterred Rao from pursuing his goal of using phages to transform gene therapies ...
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Tiny particles of plastic turn up in our drinking water, blood and even regions of the Earth thought to be pristine—so it’s vital we learn what they’re doing to us.
- Targeting Phage Therapy World Conference 2023: 73 communications will be presented this week in Paris, France
The 6th World Conference on Targeting Phage Therapy 2023 which will be held in Paris on June 1-2 will welcome more than 70 communications (major, short and poster presentations), and gather more than ...
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Phages
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