Khaberni - Clinical trial results concluded that minute viruses could aid in treating deadly infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus.
Researchers tested this therapeutic approach on 42 patients infected with antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, which had spread from the blood to the tissues, describing the infection as "one of the most dangerous and difficult bacterial infections to treat."
Two-thirds of the patients received intravenous treatment including a mix of viruses known as bacteriophages, developed by Armata Pharmaceuticals, while the other third received a placebo.
All participants in the trial also received the best available antibiotic treatments.
The patients who received the combination of bacteriophages and antibiotics achieved higher clinical success compared to those who received antibiotics alone, at various stages during the treatment period.
For example, the response rate on the twelfth day was 88% for the group that received the viral treatment compared to 58% for the placebo group.
Researchers at a meeting of infectious disease doctors in Atlanta, USA, said that patients who received a treatment with bacteriophages had better outcomes, which were reflected in reduced relapse rates, quicker recording of negative results in blood culture tests, faster improvement in symptoms, along with shorter stays in intensive care units and hospitals.
Dr. Loren Miller, the leader of the study from the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, stated in a press release, "These results provide a strong justification for moving to Phase III of the study, suggesting a potential radical shift in the way antibiotic-resistant infections are treated."
He added, "Treatments based on high-purity bacteriophages could become a new standard for caring for patients facing this life-threatening condition."
