Origin of phage therapy
Phage therapy isn't an entirely alien concept. In 1896 Ernest Hankin observed that the Ganges and Jumna rivers in India seemed to possess antibacterial properties, and he surmised that this might in some way be responsible for the reduced number of cases of gastrointestinal infection, particularly cholera, in those villages close to the river. The use of phages for therapy of bacterial infection has its origin in an observation reported in 1896 by Ernest Hankin of the presence of heat-labile, filterable antibacterial activity capable of killing Vibrio cholerae in the waters of the Ganges and Jumna Rivers. (Abedon, S. T. et al.) Hankin personally quotes, “It is seen that the unboiled water of the Ganges kills the cholera germ in less than 3 hours. The same water, when boiled, does not have the same effect. On the other hand, well water is a good medium for this microbe, whether boiled or filtered.”
The bactericidal factors were first identified by Felix d’Herelle, who reasserted the usefulness of bacteriophage as an antimicrobial agent that was many thousand times more potent against bacteria than any agent known at the time. d’Herelle developed the idea of ‘phage therapy’, a therapeutic and prophylactic treatment designed to take advantage of phage selectivity in the cellular destruction of pathogenic bacteria while remaining completely innocuous to host cells. Eventually, d’Herelle and other microbiologists isolated phage able to kill then-known pathogenic bacteria, such as Shigella dysenteriae, Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli, Pasteurella multocida, Vibrio cholerae, etc. Treatments based on this were developed for epidemics around the world.
Phage suspensions were administered by both topical application and systemic administration through oral routes and/or injection. These applications were successfully used to treat staphylococcal infections of the skin, bone, eye, and others; intestinal pathologies such as typhoid, dysentery and cholera; and systemic infections such as septicemia. Also effective in disease prevention, d’Herelle's treatments were introduced into water supplies in high epidemic areas. In some cases, phage suspensions were administered to individuals. In each case, d’Herelle and his ‘disciples’ achieved great results, both at the individual level and at the population level. Very soon, all large drug manufacturing companies, began to market phage as a therapeutic preparation, and d’Herelle's treatment became a commercial success. But gradually, there were many controversies that ultimately dampened the use of phages in medicine. (Fruciano, D. E., 2007)
Around the same time, antibiotics were making their appearance as anti-bacterial agents and very soon, became the treatment of choice in the western medicine. Already, the mechanisms of phage therapy were being debated upon. (Dublanchet, A., 2007) Eventually, with an expansion of the antibiotic market, phage therapy was no more in the picture of medicine and therapeutics.
Now, it is time to bring back the phages. With the drug resistant bacteria rampaging around, phages can be of immense help in battling bacterial infections.
The bactericidal factors were first identified by Felix d’Herelle, who reasserted the usefulness of bacteriophage as an antimicrobial agent that was many thousand times more potent against bacteria than any agent known at the time. d’Herelle developed the idea of ‘phage therapy’, a therapeutic and prophylactic treatment designed to take advantage of phage selectivity in the cellular destruction of pathogenic bacteria while remaining completely innocuous to host cells. Eventually, d’Herelle and other microbiologists isolated phage able to kill then-known pathogenic bacteria, such as Shigella dysenteriae, Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli, Pasteurella multocida, Vibrio cholerae, etc. Treatments based on this were developed for epidemics around the world.
Phage suspensions were administered by both topical application and systemic administration through oral routes and/or injection. These applications were successfully used to treat staphylococcal infections of the skin, bone, eye, and others; intestinal pathologies such as typhoid, dysentery and cholera; and systemic infections such as septicemia. Also effective in disease prevention, d’Herelle's treatments were introduced into water supplies in high epidemic areas. In some cases, phage suspensions were administered to individuals. In each case, d’Herelle and his ‘disciples’ achieved great results, both at the individual level and at the population level. Very soon, all large drug manufacturing companies, began to market phage as a therapeutic preparation, and d’Herelle's treatment became a commercial success. But gradually, there were many controversies that ultimately dampened the use of phages in medicine. (Fruciano, D. E., 2007)
Around the same time, antibiotics were making their appearance as anti-bacterial agents and very soon, became the treatment of choice in the western medicine. Already, the mechanisms of phage therapy were being debated upon. (Dublanchet, A., 2007) Eventually, with an expansion of the antibiotic market, phage therapy was no more in the picture of medicine and therapeutics.
Now, it is time to bring back the phages. With the drug resistant bacteria rampaging around, phages can be of immense help in battling bacterial infections.