Alec Ingros

3/17/17

These few chapter were extremely interesting especially when it came to making comparisons and contrasting the development of phage therapy India, Poland, Russia, and the United States. Furthermore I found it intriguing how the views of phage therapy changed during World War II and post World War II. On top of this, some nations, Russia in particular, made foolish decisions based on predisposed mindsets rather than evaluating pros and cons of a choice.

The development of phage therapy was of utmost concern medically during World War II. It was used as a treatment for various lethal infections that were plaguing the Axis as well as the Allies. To me, it is surprising how after World War II the United States decided not to pursue the possibility of phage therapy, despite it becoming the common practice on the battlefield. In addition to this, Russia’s refusal to develop antibiotics during the 40’s and 50’s because they were Western was also rather unusual. Would it not make sense to pursue medical advancements that will lead to saving the most amount of lives?

A reoccurring theme through the history of phage therapy has been the negative mindset, and skepticism from the scientific community. Despite producing many positive results in both Russia and Poland, the United States scientific community were very close minded toward accepting phage therapy as an appropriate treatment option. This made Merril’s attempts to develop phages as an alternative to antibiotics extremely difficult in the face of great criticism. This reinvigorated the development of phages, and began the creation of start-up companies that are invested in further testing of phages. Before phage therapy becomes a common practice and a primary method of treatment on resistant bacteria, these companies need to figure out how to get more consistent results from the phages.