People from all over the world that are facing amputation go to the Republic of Georgia to get treatment. In Georgia they use Bacteriophage, phage for short, to treat bacterial infection that are resistant to antibiotics. In tests they have proved to be 80 to 90% effective.
Phage are viruses that kill bacteria.The Phage will insert their DNA into a bacteria. Then they will use the bacteria to reproduce themselves over and over again. When the bacteria becomes stuffed with phage it will burst open, killing the bacteria and spilling out 50 or more Phage. These Phage will attack and kill more bacteria.
Each Phage will only attack one type of bacteria. Antibiotics kill several types of bacteria, the good bacteria that help us digest food along with the bad that cause infections.
In treating infections several types of Phage are use together in what is called a cocktail. By using a Cocktail they can still kill the bacteria even if it develops resistance to one of the phage. Phases are designed for an individual because many times there are more than one type of bacteria in an infections. Cocktails can contain as many as 100 phases .
Besides Amputations there are many other conditions that are caused by drug resistant bacteria. In fact over 100,000 people die each year from drug resistant bacteria. These conditions can also be treated by Phage.
In 1921 Felix dHerelle was the first to use Phage Therapy. He treated dysentery. During the early years there were mixed results with Phage Therapy. As the science improved so did the results.By the 1940’s Phage Therapy was used in the US. With the discovery of antibiotics the US stopped using Phage. Germany and the USSR used Phage Therapy during WWII to treat
their soldiers. After the war the USSR continued to use Phage Therapy and did a lot of research on Phage.. Because of the cold war the research findings did not reach the US. Some of the research is still not available because it is not translated into English.
Because of our current laws and regulations Phage can not be used for medicine in the United States. Phage Therapy can not be patented because it is a living organism. Drug companies will not spend money on Phage because without exclusive rights they can’t make a profit.
Current drug laws would require the Phage Cocktails to go through the approval processes even if all the individual Phages have been approved. In different parts of the country
there can be different bacteria prevalent. This would cause a need to get a tremendous number of cocktails to get approved. It costs eight hundred million to get an antibiotic to market. To get all of the cocktails approved would probably cost close to the national debt.
Phage Therapy has been safely used for 90 years. The FDA needs a different standard for testing Bacteriophage than for medicines that have been formulated by man. A drug without a record of safety.
To bring Phage Therapy to market in the US we need to develop more public awareness. We need to bring pressure to bear on the Congress and the FDA to change regulations. As long as it costs as much as it does under the present regulations nothing will ever get done and people will continue to die .
If you would like to help bring about change so that we can use Phage Therapy please leave me a note on the blog and I will get back to you.
To find out more about peoples personal experiences with Phage therapy check out this link http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2009-03/next-phage
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