What bacterium is at the top of your list of targets for phages?
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Bacteriophages have shown promise as a treatment option for extremely antimicrobial-resistant infections.
We asked Pranita D. Tamma, MD, MHS, director of the pediatric antimicrobial stewardship program and associate professor of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine: If you could pick one bacterium for phages to be a foolproof treatment for, which would it be?
Although there are several bacterial pathogens for which having phage therapy would be helpful, I am most enthusiastic for the potential for antipseudomonal phages to be readily available.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes infections in particularly vulnerable patients, such as those with cystic fibrosis, severe burns, indwelling hardware and prosthetic material, and severe immunocompromise. Moreover, P. aeruginosa infections can be highly drug resistant and sometimes have few or even no antibiotic options available.
Given what we know about phages having a high specificity for target bacterial populations, effectively penetrating biofilms and having virtually no concerning adverse events, if phages are indeed shown to improve patient outcomes in ongoing clinical trials, I think P. aeruginosa infections will be prime candidates for phage therapy.
Click here to read the Cover Story, Rediscovering phages: ‘We finally have the tools to harness them’.
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