Exploiting one infection to control another: phages versus mycobacteria
Edna George
A team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru has explored a new approach to treat mycobacterial infections, which are becoming increasingly drug-resistant. They found that a cocktail of mycobacteriophages – viruses that infect mycobacteria but not humans– were effective against slow- and fast-growing mycobacteria, in cultures. This has clinical significance in treating tuberculosis (caused by M.tuberculosis, a slow-growing mycobacterium), which is of concern, especially in developing countries. In this article, Edna George reports on this recent study by Rachit Agarwal’s team.
