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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- Study details a common bacterial defense against viral infection
One of the many secrets to bacteria's success is their ability to defend themselves from viruses, called phages, that infect bacteria and use their cellular machinery to make copies of themselves.
- Study suggests host response needs to be studied along with other bacteriophage research
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