Bacteriophages are viruses that specifically hunt and kill bacteria. With the overuse of antibiotics in most of the world, bacteria are evolving to be resistant to antibiotics, and bacteriophages can be used as a way to both decrease the use of antibiotics and treat patients with antibiotic-resistant bacterial diseases. Phages can be found anywhere, but they are exceptionally present in sewage and soils. The adoption of bacteriophage therapy in animal agriculture may slow antibiotic resistance, as the overuse of antibiotics in animal husbandry is a leading cause of antibiotic resistance. Additionally, the coupled use of phage and probiotic therapy may further advance our capability to alleviate diseases caused by negatively altered microbiomes. 

Our staff is currently researching these subjects and seeking to meet scientists studying the topics. 
What we’ve been reading on the subject: (1) “The Perfect Predator: A Scientist’s Race to Save her Husband from a Deadly Superbug” by Steffanie Strathdee; (2) Sara Federici et al., Targeted suppression of human IBD-associated gut microbiota commensals by phage consortia for treatment of intestinal inflammation, Cell, Volume 185, Issue 16, 2002, Pages 2879-2898, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2022.07.003.