Abstract

Due to the aggravation of antimicrobial resistance, alternatives have been explored to treat infections by multi-resistant bacteria, including bacteriophages and endolysins. The main advantages of bacteriophage therapy are its high specificity, less damage to the microbiota, its self-replication capability, its synergy with the individual's immune system, the option of applying them in conjunction with antibiotics, the possibility of reaching organs that are difficult to access, activity against biofilms and no adverse effects of its use have been described.Their opponents point out to the ability of bacteria to develop resistance to phages, the possibility that they contain genes that encode virulence factors or mutations that confer resistance to antibiotics, the risk of development of an immune response that clears them or that causes anaphylactic reactions. Additionally, published clinical studies do not provide conclusive results, although there are case studies with encouraging results for individual patients.

Keywords

Phage therapy, anti-bacterial agents, bacteriophages, endolysin, bacterial drug resistance, bacteria