Can the deadliest thing on Earth save millions of lives?
By Anthony Rodriguez
Superbugs are scary, they’re nasty bacteria which have evolved resistance to just about every antibiotic we throw at them. They’re spreading across the world and are nearly impossible to treat. What do we do?
It turns out, if we make a pact with the deadliest entity on Earth, we might have a fighting chance.
Well… what’s the deadliest thing on Earth?
The bacteriophage, or phage for short, is a virus that specializes in killing certain types of bacteria. They are the deadliest entities on our planet, responsible for the majority of deaths on Earth. They’re specialized killers waging an ancient evolutionary war which may last until the end of life itself.
Aren’t viruses dangerous?
We are definitely vulnerable to certain types of viruses since no one is immune from the effects of the common cold or the flu. Viruses have received a lot of press in the last few years with Zika, West Nile, and Ebola all being the face of the viral apocalypse. But those aren’t the viruses we’re talking about.
Bacteriophages are so specialized that they’re only able to target a single strain of bacteria or a few of its close relatives. Animal cells, including human ones, are simply too different for bacteriophages to infect. In fact, we encounter millions of these viruses each day. Our cells simply ignore them and we go about our day.
But we already have antibiotics, why don’t we stick to those?
Unfortunately, the age of antibiotics is coming to an end. Bacteria are living creatures, meaning they evolve to adapt to their environment. When we discovered penicillin, we introduced antibiotics into that environment. This led to increasingly antibiotic-resistant bacteria which were again treated with the antibiotics.
Our overuse of antibiotics in both medicine and agriculture has created a potentially devastating global health problem, superbugs. These are nasty bacteria which have evolved resistance to nearly every kind of antibiotic we have. Some studies predict that by 2050, deaths from superbugs will surpass those from cancer.
Well, how is a virus any better than an antibiotic?
Antibiotics are compounds which interfere with the metabolism or structure of bacteria. They are usually nonspecific and target all bacteria in its range, including beneficial bacteria that help us stay alive.
Augmentin, the general antibiotic of choice in the U.S., is implicated in aggravating the U.S. autism epidemic. It kills and inhibits beneficial bacteria that aid social neurodevelopment, leading to ASD-type social deficits.
Phages are very specific and can be programmed to attack very specific bacteria strains. Since viruses are very dynamic entities, they are able to evolve just like bacteria to overcome resistance. Even if bacteria do evolve complete phage-resistance (which they probably won’t), it seems that they are forced to give up their antibiotic resistance to do so. We may be able to get our greatest enemies in a Catch-22.
Why haven’t I heard of it?
Phage therapy is practically limited to only 3 countries: Poland, Georgia, and Russia. Western countries are shielded from developments in Eastern nations in multiple cultural aspects, including medical achievements. Until fairly recently, the U.S. was mostly unaware of phage therapy and has yet to accept it as a valid medical treatment according to existing rules. As of Feb. 23, 2019, the FDA has classified phage therapy as experimental, making Pharma companies a lot reluctant to invest.
What are we doing about it now?
In 2016, UC San Diego in collaboration with AmpliPhi Biosciences used phage therapy to clear multidrug-resistant bacteria with great success. Since then, at least 5 more patients approved for emergency experimental trials were treated with phages. Every subject was cured without any adverse effects, a huge event in the history of western medicine. As superbugs grow stronger, the age of antibiotics draws to a close. However, we have a new superweapon we can use against them. It’s a crazy concept, but injecting the deadliest entity in the world directly into our bodies might just save millions of lives.
TL;DR: Injecting genetically modified viruses directly into our bodies can save millions of lives.
References:
Abedon ST (2012). Salutary contributions of viruses to medicine and public health. In: Witzany G (ed). Viruses: Essential Agents of Life. Springer. 389–405.
Duckworth DH, Gulig PA (2002). Bacteriophages: potential treatment for bacterial infections. BioDrugs. 16 (1): 57–62.
Faltys D (4 August 2013), Evergreen Researcher Dr. Kutter Announces ‘There’s a Phage for That’, Thurston Talk, Olympia, Washington.
LaFee, Scott & Buschman, Heather. Turning a Phage. UC San Diego Health. 2018.
McCallin S, Alam Sarker S, Barretto C, Sultana S, Berger B, Huq S, Krause L, Bibiloni R, Schmitt B, Reuteler G, Brüssow H (September 2013). “Safety analysis of a Russian phage cocktail: from metagenomic analysis to oral application in healthy human subjects”
