TERMIUM Plus®

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phage therapy [1 record]

Record 1 2014-04-10

English

Subject field(s)
  • Non-Surgical Treatment
  • Microbiology and Parasitology
DEF

The therapeutic use of bacteriophages to treat pathogenic bacterial infections.

CONT

Bacteriophages are much more specific than antibiotics, so they can hypothetically be chosen to be indirectly harmless not only to the host organism (human, animal, or plant), but also to other beneficial bacteria, such as gut flora, reducing the chances of opportunistic infections. They would have a high therapeutic index, that is, phage therapy would be expected to give rise to few side effects. Because phages replicate in vivo, a smaller effective dose can be used. On the other hand, this specificity is also a disadvantage: a phage will only kill a bacterium if it is a match to the specific strain. Consequently phage mixtures are often applied to improve the chances of success, or samples can be taken and an appropriate phage identified and grown.

French

Domaine(s)
  • Traitements non chirurgicaux
  • Microbiologie et parasitologie
CONT

La phagothérapie est l'utilisation de virus bactériophages (simplement appelés bactériophages ou même phages) lytiques afin de traiter certaines maladies infectieuses d’origine bactérienne.

CONT

La phagothérapie est l'usage de virus qui possèdent la particularité de n'infecter que les bactéries (et pas les cellules humaines), pour traiter les infections bactériennes. Ces bactériophages lytiques ont la capacité de reconnaître une bactérie spécifique, de l'infecter, de l'utiliser pour se multiplier in situ, et de la faire éclater en libérant les nouveaux phages produits (environ 100 phages pour une bactérie). Les phages disparaissent lorsque l'infection bactérienne est jugulée. Chaque phage n'infecte qu'un sous-groupe donné au sein d'une espèce bactérienne. Cette stratégie permet donc de n'attaquer que la bactérie pathogène contrairement aux antibiotiques à large spectre.

Spanish

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