PhageTherapy: Talk on Using phages to combat bacteria

Hear the talk, in Dansih, by Peder Worning from PhageCompass, on the urgent issue of antibiotic resistance—a rapidly growing problem that threatens our healthcare system.

Right now, it’s estimated that around 1.5 million people worldwide die each year due to infections caused by resistant bacteria. In just 20 years, these deaths are predicted to outnumber those caused by cancer.

Fortunately, something can be done: scientists can infect disease-causing bacteria with viruses to make the bacteria themselves ‘sick,’ allowing us to stay healthy. These viruses, known as bacteriophages—or simply phages—are used in a treatment called phage therapy. This method is not new; it was first applied in 1919 to treat dysentery and remained one of the few effective treatments for bacterial infections between the two world wars.

When penicillin became widely available after World War II, phage therapy receded in many parts of the world. However, phage therapy has regained importance with the dramatic rise in antibiotic resistance.

In the summer of 2023, the first Danish patient received phage therapy at Roskilde Hospital to treat an infection in an artificial vein. But what does the future hold for phage therapy in Denmark? Through a partnership involving the University of Copenhagen and three Copenhagen hospitals, work is now being done on phage therapy to combat flesh-eating bacteria—and to explore its potential more broadly.

After attending this talk, you’ll understand what phages are, how phage therapy works, which diseases it can treat, and how and where it’s currently being used.

Read more and sign up here.