Reinventing the fight against bacteria, one phage at a time.

Study Advances Understanding of Immune System’s Crucial Role in Phage Therapy A new study co-authored by University of Maryland biologist Joshua Weitz assessed the potential for phage therapy to help treat antibiotic-resistant pneumonia. As antibiotic-resistant “superbugs” make infections trickier to treat, some in the medical community are turning to bacteriophages for backup. Also known as phages, these viruses exclusively target bacteria, allowing them to tackle bacterial infections when introduced to a patient’s body.  Phages (green) are shown engulfed by alveolar macrophages (cytoskeleton in pink and nucleus in blue). Image courtesy of Laurent Debarbieux and Solène Ecomard of the Institut Pasteur. While the use of phage therapy as an alternative or complementary treatment to antibiotics is growing, much is still unknown about how these viruses interact with bacteria and the immune system. A new study jointly led by the teams of  Joshua Weitz  at the University o...