Recent News 68 : Phage therapy has been used for the first time at the Sacco hospital in Milan

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Phage therapy, a natural weapon against resistant bacteria

One of the first treatments in the world that uses viruses capable of eliminating specific bacteria has been started at the Sacco hospital in Milan.

Phage therapy, based on the use of bacteriophage viruses (or phages) capable of attacking specific bacteria, represents a potential alternative to antibiotics in cases of resistant infections. It is a highly personalized therapy that, at present, requires further clinical studies and confirmation.

The Fatebenefratelli Sacco Hospital in Milan has announced that it has started using this technique to treat a patient with a pressure ulcer infected by Pseudomonas aeruginosa , a bacterium often present in hospital settings and which, in this specific case, has proven resistant to all available antibiotics, at the Department of Infectious Diseases of the Sacco Hospital.

Initial results showed eradication of the bacteria, confirmed by multiple wound samples, and clinical improvement. The patient is now a candidate for a skin graft procedure (previously contraindicated due to the presence of the bacteria), which would now allow closure of the wound, which had been open for several years.

An international and multidisciplinary collaboration


The treatment, coordinated by Matteo Passerini, an infectious disease specialist at the Department of Infectious Diseases at Sacco Hospital, was administered in a compassionate setting and was made possible thanks to the collaboration between the Department of Infectious Diseases at Sacco Hospital, the Department of Biology at the University of Pisa, and the Mayo Clinic research center in Rochester, Minnesota, which specializes in the production of customized phages. Every phase, from phage selection to clinical monitoring, was carefully overseen by a multidisciplinary team.


Andrea Gori , director of the Infectious Diseases Unit at ASST Fatebenefratelli Sacco, comments:

"This experience demonstrates how collaboration between Italian and international research centers, scientific research, and clinical innovation can offer new solutions to problems currently with limited therapeutic options. Phage therapy, in fact, opens up new perspectives in the treatment of resistant infections, offering hope to those patients for whom traditional options have been exhausted."



Copyright, taken from https://medicoepaziente.it/2025/terapia-fagica-arma-naturale-contro-i-batteri-resistenti/ 

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