SAVING VIRUSES
Isabelle Carnell Holdaway’s life was saved by an experimental cocktail of viruses. The young girl’s body was being attacked by a deadly and insurmountable bacterium. Doctors put the probability of survival at 1 percent. Large, black and purulent lesions formed on his skin, where the bacteria lived.
When he was taken to intensive care, his liver began to deplete and bacterial colonies spread throughout his body. But doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital used an untested bacteriophage treatment. This treatment used viruses to kill bacteria. Bacteriophage has never been a mainstream therapy and has lagged behind with the development of easier-to-use antibiotics. But today, this treatment method has been applied again due to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This method, which saved Isabella’s life, may enable more people to cling to life in the future.