| Bacteriophages - Genesis.Like most
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| | immediately after their "show"
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| discoveries, it happen quietly and
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| | trial.Although the Institute foundered
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| without much fuss. A British chemist, E.
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| | briefly, following Eliava's death, it
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| H. Hankin, noticed that water from the
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| | eventually recovered, due to the selfless
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| sewage-infested Ganges & Jumma rivers
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| | work done by dedicated staff, with very
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| seemed to be able to kill cholera
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| | little pay who believed in what they were
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| bacteria. In 1915, simultaneous
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| | doing, to continue researching and
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| discoveries by British bacteriologist
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| | producing phage tablets by the million,
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| Frederick W. Tort and Felix d'Herelle>
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| | mainly for the Soviet army. The tablets
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| b>, of the Pasteur Institute, Paris found
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| | overcame the practical limitations of the
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| that a 'microbe' found in the faeces of a
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| | original fragile glass vials. During the
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| dysentery patient could kill Shigella
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| | Soviet period, money was no object at the
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| bacteria. He called this microbe a
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| | Eliava Institute however, after 1996,
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| 'bacteriiophage' from the Latin
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| | when Gorbachev started 'Peristroika',
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| 'phage' meaning to eat, although until
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| | funding dried up. The Georgians were on
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| the advent of the electron microscope the
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| | their own, having their own political
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| method of destruction was just
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| | problems to contend with; during the
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| speculation.Along with his colleagues at
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| | civil war in Abkhazia, Georgian soldiers
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| the Institute, they were the first to
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| | carried sprays of aphages for application
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| realise the therapeutic implications of
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| | to battlefield wounds,
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| this new discovery and in 1919 they set
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| | resulting in relatively few deaths by
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| about treating a 12 year old boy,
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| | infection.The Glimmer of Hope...With the
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| suffering with severe dysentery. First
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| | ever increasing resistance of bacteria to
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| giving themselves a trial dose 100-times
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| | antibiotics, although doctors had known
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| the planned dose, to check the
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| | about this as far back as the 1940s, the
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| preparation's safety, they treated the
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| | West started to search for alternatives;
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| boy, who made a full recovery in a few
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| | the hunted was fast becoming the hunter!
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| days. At the time this must have seemed
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| | When antibiotics attempt to kill
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| like a miracle!D'Herelle and his team
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| | resistant strains of bacteria, all that
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| travelled all over the world, setting up
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| | happens is that other non-resistant
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| phage therapy trials by observing who
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| | bacteria are killed, leaving the field
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| recovered naturally from various diseases
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| | clear for resistant types to thrive
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| and isolating the phages to be grown on
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| | without competition. Friendly
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| in labs. The initial enthusiasm was,
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| | bacteria are killed, often resulting in
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| forgive the pun, infectious! The American
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| | a weakened immune system, resulting in
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| drug company Eli Lilly, amongs others who
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| | more infection, resulting in more
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| sensed a Gold Rush and wanted to be in
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| | antibiotics, resulting in.......etc.The
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| the vanguard, became involved in the
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| | old stories of mysterious viruses which
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| 1930s. However, the basic science was
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| | only, killed bacteria were
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| patchy and not enough was known about the
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| | re-investigated. People started to
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| therapeutic action; why did some people
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| | contact the Eliava Institute in Tbilisi,
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| recover and others did not? Quality of
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| | the capital city of Georgia where Felix
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| preparations was poor, there were few
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| | d'Herelle had worked with Giorgi Eliava
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| controls or regard to testing phages for
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| | to develop phage therapy, wanting to know
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| suitability to deal with a disease, or
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| | more. Some came with a genuine desire to
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| indeed if they were still alive before
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| | help, others to plagiarise that knowledge
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| being administered!Due to its erratic
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| | and take advantage of the Georgians'
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| performance, phage therapy was slated by
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| | expertise, for free. Others however, like
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| the
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| | Fred bledsoe of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and
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| American Medical Association in 1934
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| | musician Alfred Gertler, had heard of the
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| and, with the discovery of the
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| | benefits of phage therapy and came simply
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| wonder-drug antibiotics, phage therapy
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| | to be cured of life threatening MRSA,
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| fizzled out in the West to be replaced by
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| | something that doctors, using current
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| antibiotics, which seemed infallible.
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| | medications, had not managed to do; the
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| Little did they know....Phage work
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| | next step would have been amputation.It
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| continued by Russians.Giorgi Eliava, a
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| | now just remains to be seen which
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| scientist from Georgia, worked with
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| | government is prepared to swallow its
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| d'Herelle for 5 years and returned to his
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| | pride, introduce new guidlines to
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| homneland to start a bacteriological
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| | encompass the unique way that phage
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| research institute, with the blessing
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| | therapy works, and actually do something
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| (and funding) of fellow Georgian, Joseph
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| | now to alleviate the suffering of
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| Stalin. D'Herelle himself left Yale
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| | thousands of MRSA sufferers. Although
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| University in 1933 to come and work in
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| | more research is always needed, that is
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| Georgia, much to the delight of the
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| | no excuse for not using the experience
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| Soviets, who saw this as a political
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| | and knowledge gained by the Tbilisi
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| coup for the Soviet system against the
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| | experts. How much reinvention is enough?
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| expensive, capitalistic Western drug
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| | Someone with chronic, life-threathening
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| companies and their monopolistic patents.
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| | MRSA will tell you the answer.Mike
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| However, disaster struck the Institute
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| | Jozefiak and colleagues Grace Filby ( and
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| when Eliava fell foul of Beria, boss of
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| | Canadian microbiologist Bill Riedel are
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| the dreaded KGB, who had him executed.
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| | trying to promote awareness of a safe
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| Some say it was because Eliava went over
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| | alternative to antibiotics, the
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| Beria's head when refused phage funding,
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| | Bacteriophage.
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| others say it was because they shared a
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| | the information and then please ask
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| common love interest. We can never be
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| | questions of your member of parliament as
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| sure - those were turbulent times and
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| | to why western governments have ignored
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| personal rivalries often resulted in
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| | 80 years empirical evidence of very
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| imprisonment in the
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| | successful phage therapy in the former
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| Gulags and almost certain death; the
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| | Soviet Union.
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| lucky ones were executed
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