A2: Microbes in the News (Post 2)
Title: Are viruses the best weapon for fighting superbugs?
Source: The Conversation
Date Published: March 6, 2019
Link: https://theconversation.com/are-viruses-the-best-weapon-for-fighting-superbugs-111908
Summary: This article was written by a physician who is a specialist in infectious disease, he was interested in reviving an alternative to antibiotics called phage therapy (using viruses!). Which is using phages to kill certain harmful bacteria as an alternative to antibiotics that can wipe out good bacteria with the bad.He does point out this technique was tried in the 1920/30’s and had pros and cons but ultimately lost to antibiotics because it was harder to maintain with the limited knowledge of the day. However, now that we know a lot more about phages they can be more effectively utilized to target bacteria as an alternative to antibiotics. This can potentially help prevent ‘superbugs’ or bacteria that is highly antibiotic resistant, and ween America from its extremely high antibiotic dependance.
Connections: We have recently been covering viruses in class and learning about how they operate to infect bacteria which directly relates to this article.
Critical analysis: I found this article interesting because it helps highlight how phages (or viruses) can be really useful moving forward. The word virus is almost always used with a negative connotation but it is important to realize it can be helpful. I believe the article holds a semblance of accuracy because the author is in fact someone who is a specialist in infectious disease, and highlights the pros with the cons providing an argument from all sides which is important. Also it is simple enough in the jargon that it can be an article shown to the general public and still convey its general message, and stir interest in phage use for medical treatment which I think is the overall goal of an article such as this.
Question: Do you think people would ever be able to accept using a phage to kill bacteria in their body? Would you be able to?