How to kill superbugs - Phage therapy in one simple lesson.

2007: these children had gained and a BSc each in biology and health-reated subjects, plus a doctorate in Molecular Biology.	Phages are harmless to humans. Phages kill bacteria. One of the densest natural sources for phages is sea water.
2006: Safer cold meats with phages	HOUSE CALL - A doctor explains the latest news about phages on TV: View the CNN News video for Europe too.
These are E.coli food poisoning bacteria. Phage therapy is one successful option available in some countries. Individual bacteria in this photo are oblong and colored brown. As an alternative to using antibiotics for fighting E. coli infections in newborn and weaned pigs, scientists are finding promising results from introducing mixes of beneficial bacteria, obtained from other pigs, into the gut of young pigs.

Primary Education Key Stages 1and 2

ph - as in 'phage'. Sounds like ' f '.
ā - as in 'age' and 'stage' and 'phage'
fāj Sounds like 'Eh?' and OK.
click here

phage - from the Greek word 'phagein', meaning "Eat!"

bacteriophage -
It is a small virus that eats bacteria/infects only bacteria.
It is harmless to humans, animals and plants.

phage therapy - It is an alternative to antibiotics for the control and prevention of bacterial infections.

writetothem.com

Now who knows about phages?

Patricia Hewitt MP

Andrew Lansley MP

Steve Webb MP

Martin Horwood MP

Huw Irranca-Davies MP

Crispin Blunt MP

David Heath MP

Tim Loughton MP

Alan Johnson MP

Jane Kennedy MP

Keith Simpson MP

Peter Lilley MP
Steve Ladyman MP
Andy Burnham MP
Caroline Flint MP
David Miliband MP
Hugo Swire MP
Hilary Benn MP
John Maples MP
Gordon Brown PM

Lord Clement-Jones
Earl Howe
Baroness Andrews
Baroness Masham of Ilton
Lord Warner
Lord McColl
Lord Freeman

Caroline Lucas MEP

Secondary Education Key Stages 3 & 4

to Science Lesson

to Dance Lesson

The Science Museum, London had an electronic exhibit about phage therapy in 2005. It is still online.

Extra-curricular activities:

"Phage! I'm going to search for ever, searching for bacteria - Ah!

Then cos I'm really clever, I'll make them make more like I are."

Copyright © 2006 Barrie Singleton
Any unauthorised broadcasting,
public performance, copying
or re recording will
constitute an
infringement
of copyright.

letter
awaiting reply from P.H.

Subject: A new start for the Health Service
To: Patricia Hewitt
CC: Andrew Lansley
From: Grace Filby
Date:11/09/2005

Dear Patricia Hewitt

I hope you will welcome this information as Secretary of State for Health.

"Antibiotics -what next?" is part of AS level General Studies online via the BBC, for students aged 16+.

The factual information about antibiotics and the obvious alternatives e.g. phage therapy, is very clear and well presented, in my opinion. Students are taught to make their own comments and conclusion.

Our young people can see for themselves that

"Surgery that has become commonplace will become impossible if alternatives are not found soon",
"Antibiotics are a major money-spinner for pharmaceutical companies" and
"There are viable alternatives, but not funded."

Many of our young people would agree with this:
"Comment: commercial concerns might be preventing real progress in searching for cures. Alternatives should be funded from a tax on profits."

I would ask you please to consider on their behalf:

"Comment and conclusion: perhaps we need a radical alternative - a complete change of attitude if we are to continue trying."

Personally, I would like to see phage therapy proactively fast-tracked urgently in the UK. Our young people are being shown the common sense of this through their college education. Phage therapy is available to people who can travel to Poland (an EU country) as a treatment for superbugs, so why not here? It's authorised by their Bioethics Committee and as stated on a phage website in Israel, “Unable to refute its validity, doctors will soon face an adamant demand from patients to provide them with the phage alternative.”

Please could you remove the 'red tape' to make it easier for this reform of the system, and let me know if you would like some evidence of the need for this.

You will be able to save so much money and extra work, and you will also have an answer for the questions you receive about MRSA and HAIs.

Yours sincerely

Grace Filby
BA(Hons) Cert.Ed.
Designs For Wellbeing
Reigate, Surrey
www.relax-well.co.uk

letter from the Ministry of Defence
MOD-20060916.pdf

response from the Department of Health
Response to your Query _ - Ref_DE00000160824 - Freedom of Information_ Dept of Health.htm

Further Education 16+ General Studies

Antibiotics - what next?

Phage therapy is explained online by the BBC free of charge:

AS Guru General Studies- a helping hand for students (BBC)

introductory quiz on Antibiotics - what next?

phage therapy (river, soil and sewage viruses) and larval therapy (maggots)

Higher Education

View video: phage therapy at UK University

DFW: How far have you got ... with the DoH/NHS/MHRA/Rapid Review Panel etc?
NM: Absolutely nowhere - they aren't interested

DFW: How commonly is phage therapy used in this country, to your knowledge?

NM: Not at all in human medicine

Prof. Nick Mann

PowerPoint presentation:
The History of Bacteriophage Therapy

1915: Discovered by Frederick W Twort in England.
"Never had enough grant money".

Phage Case Histories and photos

click to enlarge

full pdf.
Texas Wound Care Center

References

flat file of 369
phage therapy
references -

This culture of Salmonella bacteria was treated with phages.

This culture of Salmonella bacteria was not treated with phages.

"The next morning, on opening the incubator, I experienced one of those rare moments of intense emotion which reward the research worker for all his pains: at the first glance I saw that the broth culture, which the night before had been very turbid, was perfectly clear: all the bacteria had vanished, they had dissolved away like sugar in water. As for the agar spread, it was devoid of all growth, and what caused my emotion was that in a flash I understood: what caused my clear spots was in fact an invisible microbe, a filtrable virus, but a virus parasitic on bacteria.

Another thought came to me also: “If this is true, the same thing has probably occurred during the night in the sick man, who was in serious condition. In his intestine, as in my test tube, the dysentery bacilli will have dissolved away under the action of their parasite. He should now be cured.”

I dashed to the hospital. In fact, during the night, his general condition had greatly improved and convalescence was beginning."

—Felix d’Hérelle, recalling his discovery of bacteriophages
ref: 1996, Science News: Biological Warfare: Scientists once again advocate pitting viruses against bacterial infections.

Phage therapy - the impact for the UK

"Personally, I think that half the difficulty is that the curriculum at A level and GCSE Science focuses on viruses always being "baddies" whereas of course actually phages are everywhere, and they are really bio-friendly and harmless viruses - nature's answer to naturally-evolving antibiotic-resistant bacteria." Grace Filby

You may care to check your dictionary for definitions of phages and viruses. If it still states that a virus is "a submicroscopic pathogenic agent" then now you know it's time to replace your dictionary and perhaps you can help with passing on the right message.

Photo courtesy of the Univesity of Georgia

Photo: A veterinary pathologist examines intestinal tissues for signs of E.coli bacterial infection.

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Information about technologies that may help eradicate MRSA and healthcare-associated infections is offered to the public
free of charge by Designs For Wellbeing and is not an advertisement or offered for sale or supply.