These days viruses have gotten a bad rap, and understandably so. Meanwhile, bacteria gets a lot of accolades. There are countless news stories about good bacteria in your gut and yogurt.
But, you might be surprised to learn that certain viruses can be used to cure people, And not in the form of a vaccine.
First, what are some differences between viruses and bacteria?
Bacteria are considered living organisms. Viruses are not.
Viruses can range from 10 - 100 times smaller than bacteria. Thus, viruses could pass through water filters that would stop bacteria.
Bacteria produce independently, while viruses need a host. Viruses hijack a host's cells by injecting their RNA into their cells. The infected cells become virus factories. Eventually, an overwhelming number of virions are replicated, bursting through the cells' walls and spreading throughout the host’s body.
Unchecked, a virus can disrupt a host for the rest of its' life or even kill it.
Sounds grim until you know about bacteriophage viruses that can kill life-threatening antibiotic-resistant bacteria and other bacterial infections. This treatment is called phage therapy. It's been around for over a hundred years.
The first recorded use was in 1921 by Felix d'Herelle, a microbiologist at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. He administered a single dose of phage therapy to a 12-year-old boy with severe dysentery. In a few days, it had completely cured.
With the invention of antibiotics, phage therapy fell out of use. But, in the 1980s there were a growing number of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains causing life-threatening infections. Doctors looked to the past for help.
Successful studies have been done on chronic leg ulcers, ear infections, e. coli, and more.
And bacteriophages are readily available in nature. In 2016, at Yale University, an 80-year-old man with a life-threatening bacteria chest infection was helped with bacteriophages from a local pond.
With further research and development, phage therapy might someday be used in place of the side effects of heavy antibiotics.
So the next time you think all viruses are bad, think again!
