Bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics. In the search for alternative treatment methods, researchers are turning to organic structures that a scientific adventurer had already stumbled upon a hundred years ago: viruses that attack bacteria. The remarkable story of these tiny entities recounts some spectacular healing successes. Due in no small part to excessive medication use, more and more bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics. According to the EU, this problem could soon become as critical as environmental issues – and antibiotic resistance threatens to become one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Research must therefore find alternatives – not miracle cures, but sustainably effective medications. One such solution already existed in the past: a hundred years ago, the French biologist Félix d’Hérelle discovered mysterious “bacteria-eating” viruses, known as bacteriophages or simply phages. With these, he successfully treated bacterial infections before the development of antibiotics, but his method fell into oblivion.
The rediscovery of phages is an adventure that spans half the globe: to Tbilisi, Georgia, where Dr. Mzia Kutateladze at the Eliava Institute follows Félix d’Hérelle’s example and treats patients from all over the world with bacteriophages; to New York, where experiments with the phage-produced enzyme lysin are being conducted at the instigation of Professor Vincent Fischetti; and to Paris, where new clinical trials offer grounds for hope. Is bacteriophage therapy the miracle medicine of the future? A documentary by Jean Crépu (F 2019, 54 min)
