A Wake-Up Call: We Need Phage Therapy Now

Moelling, Karin; Broecker, Felix; Willy, Christian

doi:10.3390/v10120688

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A Wake-Up Call: We Need Phage Therapy Now

by

Karin Moelling

^1,2,*,†,

Felix Broecker

^3,*,† and

Christian Willy

⁴

¹

Institute of Medical Microbiology, University of Zurich, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland

²

Max Planck Institute for molecular Genetics, 14195 Berlin, Germany

³

Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA

⁴

Department Trauma & Orthopedic Surgery, Septic & Reconstructive Surgery, Research and Treatment Center for Complex Combat Injuries, Military Hospital Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally.

Viruses 2018, 10(12), 688; https://doi.org/10.3390/v10120688

Submission received: 26 October 2018 / Revised: 27 November 2018 / Accepted: 3 December 2018 / Published: 5 December 2018

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Viruses of Microbes V: Biodiversity and Future Applications)

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Abstract

The rise of multidrug-resistant bacteria has resulted in an increased interest in phage therapy, which historically preceded antibiotic treatment against bacterial infections. To date, there have been no reports of serious adverse events caused by phages. They have been successfully used to cure human diseases in Eastern Europe for many decades. More recently, clinical trials and case reports for a variety of indications have shown promising results. However, major hurdles to the introduction of phage therapy in the Western world are the regulatory and legal frameworks. Present regulations may take a decade or longer to be fulfilled. It is of urgent need to speed up the availability of phage therapy.

Keywords: phages; phage therapy; Helsinki declaration; regulation; magistral preparation

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MDPI and ACS Style

Moelling, K.; Broecker, F.; Willy, C. A Wake-Up Call: We Need Phage Therapy Now. Viruses 2018, 10, 688. https://doi.org/10.3390/v10120688

AMA Style

Moelling K, Broecker F, Willy C. A Wake-Up Call: We Need Phage Therapy Now. Viruses. 2018; 10(12):688. https://doi.org/10.3390/v10120688

Chicago/Turabian Style

Moelling, Karin, Felix Broecker, and Christian Willy. 2018. "A Wake-Up Call: We Need Phage Therapy Now" Viruses 10, no. 12: 688. https://doi.org/10.3390/v10120688

APA Style

Moelling, K., Broecker, F., & Willy, C. (2018). A Wake-Up Call: We Need Phage Therapy Now. Viruses, 10(12), 688. https://doi.org/10.3390/v10120688

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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A Wake-Up Call: We Need Phage Therapy Now

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