Phage Products for Fighting Antimicrobial Resistance

Phage products

Increasing resistance to antimicrobial agents has led to an urgent need for new methods to combat infections caused by resistant bacteria.

This is where phages come in, viruses that specifically target bacteria and have proven effective in fighting infections. Phage therapy is attracting new interest as an alternative to traditional antibiotic treatment, and significant progress has been made in producing large phage products for use in plant, food, veterinary and human medicine.

However, there are still several challenges to overcome in the development of phage therapy, such as identifying the most effective phages for specific bacterial infections and ensuring their safe use in humans.

As we continue to search for solutions to combat antibiotic resistance, the potential of phages as an alternative to antibiotics is promising and should be further explored as part of a “One Health” approach.

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The authors Yuanling Huang, Wenhui Wang, Zhihao Zhang, Yufeng Gu, Anxiong Huang, Junhao Wang, and Haihong Hao published their research in the article Phage Products for Fighting Antimicrobial Resistance, dated 30 June 2022.

Topics:

• Phages are viruses that can effectively fight bacterial infections and are of new interest as antibiotic alternatives due to their specificity.
• In recent years, numerous phage products have been produced to combat AMR.
• The “One Health” approach is used to summarize phage products used in plant, food, veterinary, and human medicine.
• The advantages and disadvantages of phage therapy as an antibiotic alternative are discussed, as well as future prospects for development to combat AMR.

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a global public health issue and antibiotic agents have lagged behind the rise in bacterial resistance.

We are searching for a new method to combat AMR and phages are viruses that can effectively fight bacterial infections, which have renewed interest as antibiotic alternatives with their specificity.

Large phage products have been produced in recent years to fight AMR. Using the “one health” approach, this review summarizes the phage products used in plant, food, animal, and human health. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages and future perspectives for the development of phage therapy as an antibiotic alternative to combat AMR are also discussed in this review.

Keywords: advantages and disadvantages of phage therapy; antimicrobial resistance; development prospects; phage products.

Copyright: the authors.