About this Research Topic
Antibiotic resistance and antimicrobial resistance are rising rapidly around the world. The last new class of antibiotics was developed decades ago, and since then, pathogenic as well as opportunistic microbes have evolved significantly to form resistance to many of the antibiotics clinically available.
Bacteriophages are viruses that are natural predators of bacteria. They are the most abundant entities in our environment, significantly outnumbering bacteria. Their bactericidal properties can be used therapeutically to treat chronic and antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections in humans. In the face of increasingly failing antibiotic treatments, bacteriophages have the potential to transform human health.
Rising levels of antimicrobial resistance across the world, and the threat it poses to global healthcare, has amplified the need for alternative treatments. Bacteriophages have the potential to provide a robust alternative to antibiotics, which are at risk of losing efficacy rapidly due to the swift increase and spread of resistance-forming genes. Of the 12 priority pathogens identified by the World Health Organization in 2017, bacteriophages can potentially treat nine, making phage therapy worthy of further research and clinical trials.
Phage therapy is considered experimental in most countries of the world. In the last few years, case reports and community case studies have provided confidence to patients and practitioners around the world to try phage therapy for their chronic and antibiotic-resistant infections. However, regulation is needed urgently to harness the potential of phage therapy in the face of the growing crisis of antibiotic resistance. This can be brought about by accelerating research and publishing of articles in this field.
Recent advances in this field include the ‘magistral phage’ regulation of phage therapy in Belgium, US FDA approval for clinical trial / use of phages to treat specific conditions, and funding of a phage production company by the recently created AMR Action Fund.
With this in mind, we open this Research Topic to place a spotlight on the applications of bacteriophages, with respect to treatment and diagnostics. We encourage contributions that cover, but are not limited to, the following themes:
1. Real-world use of phage therapy for both treatment of bacterial infections and prophylaxis
2. Infection control in human and veterinary contexts, as well as agricultural infection control
3. Phage treatment for multidrug resistant infections, with special focus on the priority pathogens identified by the World Health Organization
4. Preclinical models to investigate the use of phage for phage therapy in human or veterinary application
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Conflicts of interest:
Apurva Virmani Johri and Pranav Johri are the founders of Vitalis Phage Therapy, which is an initiative to create phage therapy infrastructure in India, borne out of their personal experience with an antibiotic-resistant multi-pathogenic infection and its successful treatment with phage therapy.
Naomi Hoyle is a founding member of the Eliava Foundation, consultant for Eliava Phage Therapy Center and scientific advisor for PhageBiotics Foundation.
Sanjay Chhibber is Emeritus Scientist at Panjab University, his group is engaged in exploring the therapeutic potential of phages and their products.
Sabrina Green was the Co-founder, Director of R&D at TAILOR.
Bacteriophages are viruses that are natural predators of bacteria. They are the most abundant entities in our environment, significantly outnumbering bacteria. Their bactericidal properties can be used therapeutically to treat chronic and antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections in humans. In the face of increasingly failing antibiotic treatments, bacteriophages have the potential to transform human health.
Rising levels of antimicrobial resistance across the world, and the threat it poses to global healthcare, has amplified the need for alternative treatments. Bacteriophages have the potential to provide a robust alternative to antibiotics, which are at risk of losing efficacy rapidly due to the swift increase and spread of resistance-forming genes. Of the 12 priority pathogens identified by the World Health Organization in 2017, bacteriophages can potentially treat nine, making phage therapy worthy of further research and clinical trials.
Phage therapy is considered experimental in most countries of the world. In the last few years, case reports and community case studies have provided confidence to patients and practitioners around the world to try phage therapy for their chronic and antibiotic-resistant infections. However, regulation is needed urgently to harness the potential of phage therapy in the face of the growing crisis of antibiotic resistance. This can be brought about by accelerating research and publishing of articles in this field.
Recent advances in this field include the ‘magistral phage’ regulation of phage therapy in Belgium, US FDA approval for clinical trial / use of phages to treat specific conditions, and funding of a phage production company by the recently created AMR Action Fund.
With this in mind, we open this Research Topic to place a spotlight on the applications of bacteriophages, with respect to treatment and diagnostics. We encourage contributions that cover, but are not limited to, the following themes:
1. Real-world use of phage therapy for both treatment of bacterial infections and prophylaxis
2. Infection control in human and veterinary contexts, as well as agricultural infection control
3. Phage treatment for multidrug resistant infections, with special focus on the priority pathogens identified by the World Health Organization
4. Preclinical models to investigate the use of phage for phage therapy in human or veterinary application
-------------
Conflicts of interest:
Apurva Virmani Johri and Pranav Johri are the founders of Vitalis Phage Therapy, which is an initiative to create phage therapy infrastructure in India, borne out of their personal experience with an antibiotic-resistant multi-pathogenic infection and its successful treatment with phage therapy.
Naomi Hoyle is a founding member of the Eliava Foundation, consultant for Eliava Phage Therapy Center and scientific advisor for PhageBiotics Foundation.
Sanjay Chhibber is Emeritus Scientist at Panjab University, his group is engaged in exploring the therapeutic potential of phages and their products.
Sabrina Green was the Co-founder, Director of R&D at TAILOR.
Keywords: Bacteriophage, Phage Therapy, Antimicrobial Resistance, Priority Pathogens, Alternative to Antibiotics
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
