Phage therapy in the Covid-19 era: Advantages over antibiotics.
Curr Res Microb Sci
; 3: 100115, 2022.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1748097
ABSTRACT
Today, the entire world is battling to contain the spread of COVID-19. Massive efforts are being made to find a therapeutic solution in the shortest possible time. However, the research community is becoming increasingly concerned about taking a shortsighted strategy without contemplating the long-term consequences. For example, It has been reported that only 8.4% of total COVID-19 patients develop a secondary bacterial infection. In comparison, 74.6% of them are administered with antibiotics as prophylactic treatment. We contend that overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics increases the likelihood of AMR development and negatively affects the patient's recovery due to the prevalence of the "gut-lung axis.". Consequently, the use of antibiotics to treat COVID-19 patients must be rationalized, or an alternative treatment must be sought that does not risk contributing to AMR development and positively impacts the treatment outcomes. Phage therapy, a century-old concept, is one of the most promising approaches that can be adapted to serve this purpose. This review emphasizes the negative impact of excessive antibiotic use in COVID-19 treatment and provides an overview of how phage therapy can be used as an alternative treatment option. We have argued that targeted killing (narrow spectrum) and anti-inflammatory (which can target the primary cause of mortality in COVID-19) properties of phages can be an effective alternative to antibiotics.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Language:
English
Journal:
Curr Res Microb Sci
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
J.crmicr.2022.100115
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