When antibiotics are ineffective

The Soviet method of treatment is designed to protect Europeans

Monika Preuk, FOCUS
Weil Antibiotika versagen: Heilmethode aus Kaltem Krieg soll uns schützen Translation: Inopressa

"The days when penicillin and other antibiotics were considered miracle weapons are over. Antibiotic resistance is growing, and there are more and more multi–resistant bacteria," the Focus journalist writes Monica Proik. – About 33 thousand people in Europe annually become victims of superbugs like multi-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Staphylococcus aureus, of which 2.4 thousand cases occur only in Germany. The trend is growing."

At the same time, the journalist notes, "for a long time there has been a method of treatment that quickly and reliably destroys bacteria without antibiotics or as a supplement to them – the so-called phage therapy, which has been successfully used in the countries of the former USSR for several decades."

"During the Cold War, antibiotics were in short supply there, and therefore bacteriophages were used as bacterial exterminators. The Georgian Research Institute of Bacteriophage, Microbiology and Virology named after G.Eliav became the center of relevant research and in its heyday, when 1.5 thousand employees worked in the institution, supplied medicines to the entire Soviet Union," the article says.

In Western Europe, phage therapy is practiced in some cases today in France and on a larger scale in Belgium. Research centers also exist in the USA and in Australia. Now a large project in Germany has also started researching this method, the publication reports.

"Bacteriophages belong to our microbiome, that is, they are inside our body and on it, they can be found in the air, water and earth – wherever there are bacteria," explains Proik.

"Bacteriophages have no toxic or other known side effects, they do not harm either the liver or kidneys, do not affect the stomach, do not affect our microbiome, except for bacteria that need to be overcome," says Kristine Rode, curator of the working group on bacteriophage research at the Institute of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures of the Leibniz Association in Braunschweig.

"Resistance and multi–resistance, which pose a great and long-term danger in the treatment with antibiotics, does not develop in the case of phage therapy, although bacteria may be resistant to bacteriophages," the author of the publication emphasizes. – It is possible to use new bacteriophages without problems, nature in this sense is practically inexhaustible. Or use a mixture of bacteriophages against any bacterium."

Targeted destruction of bacteria without side effects and the development of resistance with the help of bacteriophages could replace antibiotic treatment, however, according to Rohde, this is "absolutely unrealistic", since in cases where the patient needs urgent help, the doctor will still prescribe an antibiotic, because it will take time to select the appropriate phage therapy. Therefore, the journalist notes, phage therapy is primarily intended for seriously ill patients who cannot be helped by antibiotics.

At the moment, the Institute of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures of the Leibniz Association in Braunschweig is studying "the possibilities encoded in the genome of each bacteriophage" and evaluating their applicability in medicine. "The Institute's bacteriophage Bank is the largest in Germany and one of the few in Europe. The number of bacteriophages stored in it that can be used in therapy is growing," writes Proik.

"In a study called Phage4Cure, which began in September 2017, the suitability of bacteriophages for therapy is being purposefully studied and tested, since bacteriophages are not yet recognized as a drug in Germany and the EU and phage therapy does not belong to standard treatment methods," the article says.

The project is fully funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Scientific Research of Germany, which provided about 4 million euros. The pharmaceutical industry is not involved in the project, but it is showing a growing interest in research. Perhaps pharmaceutical companies will also decide to start working in this direction, and in the future, after clinical studies conducted within the framework of the project, phage therapy will become an effective alternative to antibiotics in Germany.

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