Bacteriophages: a glimmer of hope in medicine – when antibiotics fail to treat bacterial infections

Phages are seen as an alternative to conventional antibiotics. In my work, I have succeeded in finding 9 new E. coli phages; 5 of them code for a colanic acid-degrading protein and can be assigned to two families, the Crono and Bonnell viruses. They are T7-like phages. These phages were found in Basel wastewater and in elephant faeces (Basel Zoo). My results far exceeded expectations and are a first step in the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.