Re:When antibiotics failed a severely ill patient, a virus s...
by maxerickson on Thursday December 08, 2016 @03:22PM
(#13133920)
More importantly - is mutation rate what we want to consider?
I think it is quite important when considering this particular interaction. Horizontal gene transfer will help a population of bacteria share a successful strategy, rampant mutation will help the virus try more strategies.
The article mentions that the particular infection reached a balance with the phage overnight, so it is likely to be a quite an issue. But the population of bacteria resistant to the phage had become susceptible to an antibiotic (for reasons related to the resistance). So it can still be a valuable tool, even if resistance happens quickly.
I think it is quite important when considering this particular interaction. Horizontal gene transfer will help a population of bacteria share a successful strategy, rampant mutation will help the virus try more strategies.
The article mentions that the particular infection reached a balance with the phage overnight, so it is likely to be a quite an issue. But the population of bacteria resistant to the phage had become susceptible to an antibiotic (for reasons related to the resistance). So it can still be a valuable tool, even if resistance happens quickly.