Phage research is gaining traction globally. The interest is increasing and spreading to resource-limited settings. The problem of drug resistance is real, and worsened by unregulated drug use. The practices of self medication, improper disposal of unused antibiotics, sub-standard antibiotics and poor sewage disposal system makes our location (Bokkos, Plateau State, Nigeria) a unique site for isolation of phages effective against resistant bacteria.

My aim is to give you a peek into our world as we try to respond to this growing concern against resistant bacteria using phage therapy.

Frustrating first attempts at phage isolation

Our attention was turned to phage after a colleague attended a phage workshop (one of the workshops put on by the nonprofit organization Phages for Global Health). The phage isolation process sounded very easy, and we looked at various protocols, hoping to replicate them and isolate our first phage. The first frustration set in; after three weeks, we could not get a phage. We tried and failed several times to isolate a phage, not because there were no phages present, but because we didn’t have a filter, and could not afford to buy one. We learned the hard way that filtration is key to a successful phage isolation. Good protocols are clearly needed, and critical points should be outlined in protocol descriptions.

Finding our first phage

Phew!!! We got our first phages against E. coli and S. aureus after a friend gave us 0.45-µm filters he got a long time ago (although they were expired). The filters were so unique, because we could just use syringes. Our phages have shown good activities against E. coli.

Phage showing activity against E. coli.

Next steps: creating a phage bank (with minimal electricity)

The next question was: how do we identify the phages and store them for future use? For us, the problem of electricity is real. Getting 10 hours of constant electricity is not really possible. So we are trying several options toward building a phage bank. We are working on how to keep the phages alive with minimal electricity. Will this work? I don’t know.

Challenges finding collaborators

Another area of struggle is getting a collaborator who believes in you and who would want to help. When your work looks too simple and elementary, it is hard to find good collaborators. They want you to have taken the work to a certain point before you are taken seriously. Hey! A lot of work has gone into that elementary science. We hope we can find collaborators that would help us identify our phages.

Final remarks

Phage work has lots of prospects here, ranging from agriculture to health. The range of applications is vast. People are looking for alternatives to the drugs we use, and we are excited to keep studying phages to see what they can do.