Scientists successfully treated a patient's antibiotic-resistant infection using a genetically engineered virus for the first time, reports NPR.
Physicians turned to the experimental treatment to save 17-year-old Isabelle Carnell-Holdaway, a cystic fibrosis patient in England who contracted a life-threatening infection after a lung transplant in 2017.
Scientists used three bacteriophages to make the treatment, including one that could kill Mycobacterium abscessus — the bacteria causing Isabelle's infection. The team genetically modified these phages to maximize their ability to identify and kill this bacteria before combining them into a treatment cocktail for Isabelle. Researchers detailed this process in an article published May 8 in Nature Medicine.
Isabelle is not completely cured and still receives infusions of the treatment twice a day. However, she has made significant strides in her recovery and now lives a near-normal life.
Physicians and scientists said they hope Isabelle's case will encourage others to conduct more research on the use of phages to treat superbug infections.
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