Bacteriophages are of two types: lytic and lysogenic bacteriophages. Lytic phages are virulent, causing lysis of bacterial cells, allowing lytic phage progeny to be released into the environment. Due to their lytic properties specific to bacteria, they are supposed to be used as alternative therapeutics against multi-drug resistant bacteria. On the other hand, lysogenic phages are the viruses that integrate their whole genome into bacterial chromosome and maintain their DNA replications along with bacterial genome within bacterial cells.
HIV treatment: A new drug developed
Since the discovery of HIV virus, scientists have been trying to find a better HIV treatment. Although few antiretroviral drugs have been developed, they couldn’t give full hope to the patient.
Recently, a new drug “Gammora” has been developed by Israeli scientists, which can eradicate up to 99% of HIV infected cells. The drug gammora in its first human trial has been succeeded to get this positive result.
Researchers of Zion Medical, an Israeli Biotech Company developed this drug and they proved that the drug can eliminate up to 99% of viral load even within first four week of treatment.
10 phages used onto food to prevent bacterial pathogens
Antibiotic resistance has become a major concern of this world due to misuse and rapid use of antibiotics. This problem causes scientist to find new strategies to combat bacterial pathogens. As many studies have been done for this purpose, phage therapy is mostly discussed topic at present days.
Frederick Twort in 1915 and Fe’lix d’He’relle in 1917 first observed that viruses have antibacterial activities. Since then, phages had been being used against dome bacteria. But due to discovery of antibiotics in 1929 and its rapid emergence in 1940, the concept of phage application died out in west.
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Antibiotic alternative against clostridial infections
Clostridium difficle infection has become a great cause of concern in the present world, and its antibiotic resistance is increasing day by day owing to the misuse and rapid use of antibiotics. Previous studies have shown that there is a strong association of CDAD or Clostridium difficle associated diarrhea with the use of wide spectrum antibiotics such as Clindamycin, cephalosporin penicillin and fluoroquinolone[1].
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