Bacteriophages

[supersmurf]

Hello all,

Just thought I'd mention something that I was discussing with a doctor the other day. He was very knowledgable of c-diff and was quite concerned about the rise in number of cases in the past several years and noted that in many ways he thinks doctors or missing or incorrectly diagnosing youger people with c-diff like symptoms with having something else, when it is really c-diff and only when it get really bad, does a correct diagnosis take place.

Anyway what I wanted to bring to this forum was what he told me about the impending increase of bacterials resistance to AB. He suggested that at the period of time when antibiotics were starting to be developed there were also Bacteriophages being used to treat infections. Unfortunately because antibiotics became so widely used the Bacteriophages fell out of use in most of the world except for in the former Soviet Union. Now they are seeing a resurgence of interest in this treatment.

I found the following at http://www.phages.org/PhageHistory.html that gives a brief expanation of how they work. It is a bit scary to think about, but so are antibiotics and superbug infections.

So here is to hope for new treatments, maybe this will oneday be the treatment of choice for c-diff???

Supersmurf

By the way Christina, I read the book you were talking about "The Antibiotic Paradox," it was really good. I think more people should read it.

[Bobbie]

Supersmurf,
Thx. for info. I deleted the quoted info. because of copyright laws. Everyone can read the explanation in the hyperlink.

[supersmurf]

Thanks for the editing Bobbie, I wasn't sure what would be acceptable or not. I will know for next time.
I hope you recover from your new "issues" soon.

Supersmurf

[Christina]

I'm glad you liked it!

[Bobbie]

supersmurf,
We can't quote anything (even from a newspaper) w/o permission of the author and the editor. I always thought newspapers were "public property" but are not.

This is why we use hyperlinks only. The problem wih them is that most newspapers only retain them for a certain time & the archieve them & you have to pay. Med. journals seem more stable.

When I first started on the site, I copied info. from a health bulletin I used to receive. Removed part of the info. but left the oldest as I couldn't locate hyperlinks.

Lots more to C. diff. & the other "super" infections that anyone knows.

[skipperndallas]

The one obstacle is the fact bacteriophages were ,just this past april 2007 approved for spraying meat in the US by the FDA. However there is a doc in Lubbock at the wound care clinic that is breaking the bio film caused by mrsa. And there is a company in england who is working on products using bacteriophages for both Mrsa and C-diff Check this out........
http://www.phicotherapeutics.co.uk/phic ... 12007.html[/url]

[Christina]

If you read the book listed above in supersmurfs post you'll only want to buy organic meat anyway. Since having c-diff I do not eat anything containing antibiotics. Also, they spray fruit trees and other plants we eat here in the US and abroad with antibiotics to prevent diseases on these products. All of this can lead to antibiotic resistance in the consumer.