The idea that the phage could help before, during, and after is pretty interesting. Because although sometimes there are Prophylactic antibiotics, they aren't generally given to an entire population to my knowledge. And since diseases like this tend to be endemic to specific areas rather than a case here and there worldwide, so having something that's almost the equivalent of vaccine (although presumably short lived?) could really be effective for locals and travelers. Reducing the load ending back up in the water supply would then further reduce cases (ideally, although the extremely low load for this one may make it difficult).<p>Way more to learn here. The Soviets were really big on phage research also, wonder if they still have any interesting learnings: <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7653335/" rel="nofollow">https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7653335/</a><p><a href="https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2023/05/03/western-firms-are-becoming-interested-in-a-soviet-medicine" rel="nofollow">https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2023/05/03/...</a>
Getting paid $4,000 to participate in a trial that could potentially save thousands of lives for a disease is incredible. But even better that it's a somewhat neglected disease that doesn't often occur in the western world. Sounds like the experiment was a success and I am hopefully/excited to see this rolled out!
Phags are really promising in case of antibiotics-resistant bacterias. However I wonder how long does it take to find out the bacteria is resitant, breed new phages and apply them.<p>It's because from my experience doctors usually give me antibiotics even BEFORE they find out what bacteria I have. "Oh you have pneumonia, better give you clavulanic acid". Next time they provide me with something else. When I asked "should we make a bacterial culture" - they say "it will take so much time, better take the antibiotics now".<p>For a sick person after antibiotics therapy and after culture test results, those days/weeks to raise another culture of phages might be deadly.
Dysentery is no joke: the defining symptom, blood in your stool, comes from your intestinal lining sloughing off. A good friend of mine got it in India and said
the waves of pain whenever she had to defecate were worse than giving birth without anesthetics.<p>The one upside is that dysentery is common enough in India that it was promptly recognized and treated, with a single giant horse pill targeting both bacillary & amoebic dysentery that basically cured her in 24 hours.
"My friend Ozy said that Infinite Jest was a really good book for reading in a dysentery ward."<p>I made the mistake of trying to read Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey when I had covid last. I never finished it, and when I try to read it now it reminds too much of how awful I felt.
> Stated another way, more people die from dysentery now, every year than ever died from any cause on the Oregon Trail. So let’s calm down about the Oregon Trail, okay?<p>Okay fine. Fuck.