4 ms·
Sad that the article is not talking about bacteriophages[1]. Basically viruses that infect other bacteria. The world is full of them (and even virophages: virus
by Faaak 2y ago
Sad that the article is not talking about bacteriophages[1]. Basically viruses that infect other bacteria. The world is full of them (and even virophages: viruses that infect other viruses). The soviet union started experimenting them, and they seem to be used to treat hard-to-cure infections like Staphylococcus aureus, but I guess it died down somehow?
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteriophage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteriophage
- MoreMoore 2y agoFrom the bits and pieces I've heard, the problem is one of scaling. Bacteriophages had to be made bespoke for a specific patient.
- dennis_jeeves2 2y agoI've heard that for stubborn cases it works really well. It's true it does not lend itself to mass manufacture the way antibiotics do but I believe, a typical lab with the right knowledge/equipment/resources should be able to do it. I saw a documentary a long time back where they do it Georgia, not sure how legit it is.
- dennis_jeeves2 2y ago>but I guess it died down somehow? I've heard that it lives on in Georgia.
- yawnxyz 2y agoIt lives on everywhere! Lots of labs working on it in the US, we started a clinical trial in Australia called Phage Australia. As the other post says, it's effective but cost prohibitive at scale, and biologics are a pain. It'll get here, but we need way better tools to lower the costs.
- dennis_jeeves2 2y agoHey thanks, that's cause for optimism. Can you very, very briefly tell me what the biologics are in the case - cultures?