3 ms·
> But the long illness took its toll: Patterson was diagnosed with diabetes and is now insulin dependent, with mild heart damage, no feeling in the bottoms of h
by gnicholas 4y ago
> But the long illness took its toll: Patterson was diagnosed with diabetes and is now insulin dependent, with mild heart damage, no feeling in the bottoms of his feet and gut damage that affects his diet.
So if he had received the phage treatment sooner, would that have lessened these effects? Or are they sure that these effects were not caused by the phages themselves? Obviously it's better to be alive, even with these effects, but if doctors were choosing between several options for a future patient, they'd presumably want to know the causal chain.
- elcritch 4y agoYes getting the treatment sooner would’ve prevented damage, though how much would be harder to say. According to the account, by the time of treatment the bacterium had caused widespread damage and the patient had multiple organ failure before the treatment. Phages are also highly adapted to attack bacteria and often specific bacteria. It’s highly unlikely to affect humans. That’s easy to show since dirt is loaded with bacterial phages. Additionally there was significant research in Soviet bloc on the safety and efficacy of phage treatment. I’m hoping phage treatment becomes more common and better. The rise of bacterial superbugs is one of the greatest threats to modern life, as in we don’t expect ourselves or loved ones to die routinely from bacterial infections. However that’s very recent thing in human history. I’d readily wager that bacterial diseases have killed far more people than viral infections. They’re the literal plague.