Therapeutic Rationale and Clinical Implications of Phage Therapy

Phage therapy is a relatively new approach for treating bacterial infections using bacteriophages. Phages or bacteriophages are viruses, which replicate only inside bacteria. They target bacteria including their antibiotic-resistant strains. Such viruses have the advantage of specifically targeting and killing specific bacteria without causing any damage to the host organism or to other helpful bacteria such as the good bacteria that are a part of the gut flora, which reduces the likelihood of complications. Phage therapy is used in cases of multi-drug resistance. It is also effective in treating biofilm infections, particularly those caused by Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Phage therapy primarily uses obligately lytic phages to kill their respective bacterial hosts while leaving human cells unharmed and minimizing the impact on commensal bacteria caused by antibiotic use. This book aims to shed light on the therapeutic rationale and clinical implications of phage therapy. It covers in detail some existent theories and innovative concepts revolving around this domain. This book is appropriate for students seeking detailed information in this area as well as for experts.