Bacteriophage-Antibiotic Combinations: A Promising Alternative for Refractory Infections?

Phages used alone have potential advantages over antibiotics. These include high specificity to bacteria, which limits potential damage to the normal flora of the host; self-limiting action, meaning that phage numbers decline as the bacterial infection resolves; and phages’ adaptability with the bacterial host, in that they may infect previously phage-resistant bacterial mutants. However, recently published research has shown promising results with phage-antibiotic combinations against bacteria.