Bacteriophages as Alternatives to Antibiotics in Clinical Care
1
Postgraduate Program in Biotechnology, State University of Feira de Santana (UEFS), Av. Transnordestina S/N, Feira de Santana-BA 44036-900, Brazil
2
Health & Environment Group, Institute of Environmental Sciences and Research, PO Box 29-181, Christchurch 8540, New Zealand
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Antibiotics 2019, 8(3), 138; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/antibiotics8030138
Received: 2 August 2019 / Revised: 2 September 2019 / Accepted: 3 September 2019 / Published: 4 September 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Paper in Antibiotics for 2019)
Antimicrobial resistance is increasing despite new treatments being employed. With a decrease in the discovery rate of novel antibiotics, this threatens to take humankind back to a “pre-antibiotic era” of clinical care. Bacteriophages (phages) are one of the most promising alternatives to antibiotics for clinical use. Although more than a century of mostly ad-hoc phage therapy has involved substantial clinical experimentation, a lack of both regulatory guidance standards and effective execution of clinical trials has meant that therapy for infectious bacterial diseases has yet to be widely adopted. However, several recent case studies and clinical trials show promise in addressing these concerns. With the antibiotic resistance crisis and urgent search for alternative clinical treatments for bacterial infections, phage therapy may soon fulfill its long-held promise. This review reports on the applications of phage therapy for various infectious diseases, phage pharmacology, immunological responses to phages, legal concerns, and the potential benefits and disadvantages of this novel treatment.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Romero-Calle, D.; Guimarães Benevides, R.; Góes-Neto, A.; Billington, C. Bacteriophages as Alternatives to Antibiotics in Clinical Care. Antibiotics 2019, 8, 138. https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/antibiotics8030138
AMA Style
Romero-Calle D, Guimarães Benevides R, Góes-Neto A, Billington C. Bacteriophages as Alternatives to Antibiotics in Clinical Care. Antibiotics. 2019; 8(3):138. https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/antibiotics8030138
Chicago/Turabian StyleRomero-Calle, Danitza; Guimarães Benevides, Raquel; Góes-Neto, Aristóteles; Billington, Craig. 2019. "Bacteriophages as Alternatives to Antibiotics in Clinical Care" Antibiotics 8, no. 3: 138. https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/antibiotics8030138
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