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In the US alone some 90,000 people die from superbugs--bacteria that have grown immune to antibiotics. Officials agree that this problem will only get worse with time and new alternatives must be found. One alternative that is being considered by scientists is a kind of virus called a bacteriophage. "Phages"--viruses that kill bacteria but not humans--were discovered in 1915. Phage therapy was successfully used for twenty years before the invention of penicillin made them obsolete everywhere but Eastern Europe, where they are still in use today. In its first English translation, this book tells the fascinating story behind the history of the phage, its discovery and development, as well as the strides that are being made to bring the therapy back to the West today.
E-Book Content
VIRUSES VS. SUPERBUGS A Solution to the Antibiotics Crisis?
THOMAS HÄUSLER
macmillanscience
e-book
Viruses vs. Superbugs A solution to the antibiotics crisis? Thomas Häusler Translated by Karen Leube
Macmillan London New York Melbourne Hong Kong
© Thomas Häusler 2006 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2006 by Macmillan Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world ISBN-13: 978–1–4039–8764–8 ISBN-10: 1–4039–8764–5 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 Printed and bound in China
For Susanne and Julia
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contents
list of figures vi foreword viii preface xi chapter 1 at the limits of medicine 1 chapter 2 invincible microbes 15 chapter 3 the wild pioneer era 48 chapter 4 the renaissance of phages during the war 105 chapter 5 a parallel universe 126 chapter 6 keepers of the grail in peril 175 chapter 7 resurrection 203 chapter 8 what’s the future of phage therapy? 248 appendix 1 a short list of bacteria 252 appendix 2 the advantages and disadvantages of phage therapy 257 notes 261 figure sources 283 index 284
v
list of figures
1.1
Surgeon Guram Gvasalia uses phages to treat Alfred Gertler’s foot at the Tbilisi central hospital
12
2.1
Staphylococcus aureus on the luminal surface of an indwelling catheter, as seen through a scanning electron microscope
26
2.2
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as seen through a scanning electron microscope
27
2.3
Salmonella typhimurium with multiple flagella, as seen through an electron microscope
39
Félix d’Herelle, his wife (left) and two assistants (right) at the Pasteur Institute during the First World War
51
3.2
A T4 phage that infects E. coli cells, as seen through an electron microscope
54
3.3
A T4 phage on the cell membrane of an E. coli cell, as seen through an electron mic