CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF DETERMINING BACTERIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY TO PHAGES

The increasing number of bacteria resistant to antibiotics requires the introduction of new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in clinical microbiology. Bacteriophages are viruses that selectively infect bacteria; they do not target human cells and, in many cases, affect the normal microbiota less than antibiotics. Therefore, determining bacterial susceptibility to phages, especially in infections caused by multidrug-resistant microorganisms, is considered an important laboratory step for selecting individualized treatment.