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Phage therapy is the use of bacteriophages to treat bacterial infections. Bacteriophage treatment offers a possible alternative to conventional antibiotic treatments for bacterial infection. [55] It is conceivable that, although bacteria can develop resistance to phages, the resistance might be easier to overcome than resistance to antibiotics.
An example of a bacteriophage known to follow the lysogenic cycle and the lytic cycle is the phage lambda of E. coli. [55] Sometimes prophages may provide benefits to the host bacterium while they are dormant by adding new functions to the bacterial genome , in a phenomenon called lysogenic conversion .
In addition to combining one antibiotic with another, antibiotics are sometimes co-administered with resistance-modifying agents. For example, β-lactam antibiotics may be used in combination with β-lactamase inhibitors, such as clavulanic acid or sulbactam, when a patient is infected with a β-lactamase-producing strain of bacteria. [75]
However, these classifications are based on laboratory behavior. The development of antibiotics has had a profound effect on the health of people for many years. Also, both people and animals have used antibiotics to treat infections and diseases. In practice, both treat bacterial infections. [1]
For example, antibiotics are used against bacteria, and antifungals are used against fungi. They can also be classified according to their function. Antimicrobial medicines to treat infection are known as ⠀⠀antimicrobial chemotherapy, while antimicrobial drugs are used to prevent infection, which known as antimicrobial prophylaxis. [2]
Antibiotics are used both in treating human disease and in intensive farming to promote animal growth. Both uses may be contributing to the rapid development of antibiotic resistance in bacterial populations. [29] Phage therapy, using bacteriophages can also be used to treat certain bacterial infections. [30]
Scientists say they have developed a new type of antibiotic to treat a bacteria that is resistant to most current antibiotics and kills a large percentage of people with an invasive infection.
An example of a virus that uses the lysogenic cycle to its advantage is the Herpes Simplex Virus. [10] After first entering the lytic cycle and infecting a human host, it enters the lysogenic cycle. This allows it to travel to the nervous system's sensory neurons and remain undetected for long periods of time.