As bacteria grows resistant to antibiotics, bacteriophage therapy gets a second look

It’s being called a “Hail Mary” for a Calgary man who suffers chronic pain – and so far, it seems to be working.

Boyd English is the first patient in Western Canada to have the pain in his hip treated with bacteriophages.

That’s using viruses to kill bacteria.

English broke his hip in 1973 and got a hip replacement.

After a ranching injury and another surgery in 2013, he started to experience chronic pain.

The recurring infection caused English’s mobility to be severely restricted. He was forced to spend 16-18 hours a day in bed and has been in constant pain.

He’s also had multiple surgeries to have the infected tissue cleared away and “washed out” with antibiotics, but these efforts only offered temporary relief.

According to a media release issued by Alberta Health Services on Thursday, antibiotics act like a blanket neutralizer on bacteria, while bacteriophages are more like assassins that target the bacteria.

They infect the bacteria, then replicate until the bacteria bursts, amplifying the benefit at the infection site while leaving other cells intact and unharmed.

According to a media release issued by Alberta Health Services on Thursday, antibiotics act like a blanket neutralizer on bacteria, while bacteriophages are more like assassins that target the bacteria.

The method was studied long before antibiotics were introduced, but when antibiotics proved to be effective, bacteriophage therapy was abandoned.

Now, with growing resistance to antibiotics, researchers have renewed interest in bacteriophage therapy as an alternative.

In November, English underwent the bacteriophage treatment -- and so far, it seems to be working.

“It’s been a rough ride,” English said. “It started in 1973 and hopefully it ends as of today or next weeks or in six months, we’ll know where we’re at.”

In November, English underwent the bacteriophage treatment -- and so far, it seems to be working.

Another patient in Ottawa underwent phage therapy too.

Right now, the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota is conducting a clinical trial on the treatment.

With files from CTV's Tyson Fedor