Viruses that heal
- EN - DE
At its annual event yesterday, the University Medicine Zurich initiative presented its new flagship project ImmunoPhage: a groundbreaking endeavor that aims to develop bacteriophages for treating urinary tract infections. Bacteriophages are highly specialized viruses that attack and destroy bacteria. French-Canadian biologist Félix d'Hérelle gave these viruses their name, which means "bacteria eater", when he first described the tiny entities over a century ago. He later teamed up with biologist George Eliava to co-found the first institute for bacteriophage research in Tbilisi. Following the discovery of penicillin in the 1920s, antibiotics became the dominant form of treating bacterial infections, and bacteriophages were largely forgotten - at least in the West. The University Medicine Zurich initiative has now given these obscure viruses a new lease on life thanks to their ImmunoPhage project, which will develop bespoke bacteriophages to treat urinary tract infections. While this new approach comes with the attendant risks of a novel therapy, it also holds great promise for the future.
