A research team led by an Ottawa Hospital physician has treated Canada’s first patient with a new treatment for chronic joint infections.
This treatment is called a bacteriophage, or phage. It is offered as a last resort for joint infections, particularly when antibiotics have stopped working or surgery is unlikely to be successful, the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) said in a news release Friday.
“Periprosthetic joint infections (PJIs) occur when bacteria infect an artificial joint and form a slimy membrane called a biofilm. Approximately 1 percent of all knee and hip replacements result in infection. “PJI is treated with antibiotics and surgery, but it is difficult to get rid of because a single bacterial cell can cause further recurrences,” the release states.
Patients in the clinical trial were referred to Dr. Marisa Azad, an infectious disease physician and associate scientist at The Ottawa Hospital and an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa.
“My heart broke for these patients. We had nothing left to give them,” Dr. Azad said.
“An infection this severe is unacceptable and there’s nothing we can do. We had to think outside the box.”
What is phage therapy?
Azad says phage therapy can not only make antibiotics more effective, but can also directly target and kill bacteria.
“Phages are viruses that target bacteria and replicate within them. So many phages are created that the bacteria explode, sending out more phages in search of more bacteria,” the release states. ing.
“Phages not only directly kill bacteria, but they also increase the effectiveness of antibiotics by reducing the biofilm that surrounds and protects bacteria.”
The phages used in this treatment were sourced from Cytophage Technologies, a Winnipeg-based biotechnology company. The patient received his first dose of Phage in February. The release states it was administered regularly over a two-week period.
“Cytophages has generated phages used in Dr. Azad’s treatments that are specific to the needs of patients. Specifically, the phages attack Staphylococcus epidermidis that was infecting patients’ implants.” uOttawa said.
The university says the treatment is generally considered safe and has few side effects because “phages only infect bacteria, not human cells.”
The research team received approval from Health Canada to treat this patient with phage therapy as part of a single-patient clinical trial, as phage therapy is still in the clinical and experimental stages.
