DETROIT — A Wayne State University researcher received nearly $500,000 from the National Institute of Health to study using bacteriophage viruses against antibiotic-resistant infections.
The study, led by Dr. Michael Rybak at the Wayne State Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, will examine how the viruses may work alongside antibiotics to treat hard-to-kill bacteria commonly found in hospital settings.
Rybak says antibiotic resistance has been fueled by decades of overuse and misuse of antibiotics in both human medicine and agriculture. He says bacteriophages were once used before antibiotics became widespread, but later fell out of favor.
Researchers hope the two-year study could provide doctors with another option for treating severe infections, particularly in elderly and immunocompromised patients.