In a world where antibiotic resistance is becoming an increasingly alarming threat, one woman’s relentless pursuit of an alternative treatment led to a groundbreaking medical breakthrough. This is the story of how bacteriophages, nature’s own bacteria-fighting viruses, were used to save a man’s life when all other options had failed.
The Vacation That Changed Everything
It was supposed to be a relaxing Thanksgiving cruise on the Nile for Tom Patterson and his wife, Steffanie Strathdee. Instead, it turned into a nightmare that would push medical science to its limits and potentially change the future of how we treat bacterial infections.
Tom, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, suddenly fell ill with severe stomach cramps during their Egyptian vacation. What started as a troublesome bout of traveler’s sickness quickly spiraled into a life-threatening condition that would baffle doctors on three continents.
The Superbug That Defied Modern Medicine
After being airlifted to Germany, doctors discovered the root of Tom’s illness: a grapefruit-sized abdominal abscess filled with a particularly nasty bacterium called Acinetobacter baumannii. This wasn’t just any ordinary infection; it was a superbug, resistant to nearly all known antibiotics.
Acinetobacter baumannii, nicknamed “Iraqibacter” due to its prevalence in wounded soldiers during the Iraq War, is a formidable foe. It tops the World Health Organization’s list of dangerous pathogens for which new antibiotics are critically needed. This bacteria is notorious for its ability to “steal” antimicrobial resistance genes from other bacteria, making it a true nightmare for medical professionals.
As Tom’s condition worsened, he was transferred back to the United States, where doctors at UC San Diego fought desperately to save his life. But despite their best efforts and the strongest antibiotics available, the infection continued to rage unchecked through Tom’s body.
A Race Against Time
Steffanie Strathdee, an infectious disease epidemiologist, watched in horror as her husband’s condition deteriorated. With Tom slipping into a coma and his organs beginning to fail, doctors delivered the devastating news: they had run out of options.
But Steffanie wasn’t ready to give up. In a moment that could have been plucked from a medical drama, she asked her unconscious husband to squeeze her hand if he wanted to live. Against all odds, he did.
That simple gesture set in motion a chain of events that would push the boundaries of medical science and offer hope not just for Tom, but potentially for millions of others facing antibiotic-resistant infections.
Bacteriophages: Nature’s Bacterial Assassins
In her desperate search for alternatives, Steffanie stumbled upon an obscure treatment that had been largely forgotten in Western medicine: bacteriophage therapy.
Bacteriophages, or phages for short, are viruses that naturally prey on bacteria. They’re nature’s own bacterial assassins, evolved over billions of years to be exquisitely effective at targeting and destroying specific bacterial strains.
While phage therapy had been used in former Soviet bloc countries for decades, it had been dismissed as “fringe science” in the West. But for Steffanie, it represented a glimmer of hope in an otherwise hopeless situation.
The Hunt for the Perfect Predator
Armed with this knowledge, Steffanie embarked on a frantic search for scientists who could help. She sent emails to strangers around the world, pleading for assistance in finding the right phages to combat Tom’s specific strain of Acinetobacter baumannii.
Her plea reached Dr. Ryland Young, a biochemist at Texas A&M University who had been working with phages for over 45 years. Moved by Steffanie’s determination, Young and his team dropped everything to help. They worked around the clock, screening hundreds of environmental samples in search of phages that could effectively target Tom’s infection.
Meanwhile, scientists at the U.S. Naval Medical Research Center joined the hunt, scouring their extensive banks of phages collected from seaports around the world.
Overcoming Bureaucratic Hurdles
While the scientists raced to find the right phages, Steffanie and Tom’s doctor, Dr. Robert “Chip” Schooley, faced another challenge: getting approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to use this experimental treatment.
Phage therapy hadn’t undergone clinical trials in the United States, which meant each case required special “compassionate use” approval. It was a process that could potentially consume precious time that Tom didn’t have.
But in a stroke of luck, the FDA official who answered their call was not only understanding but also had connections in the Navy that could help with the phage search. It was as if the stars were aligning to give Tom a fighting chance.
From Test Tube to Treatment
As the Texas and Navy teams successfully identified promising phages, a new challenge emerged: how to purify these phages for safe injection into Tom’s bloodstream. It was a process that had never been perfected in the U.S. before.
Working tirelessly, scientists at both institutions developed methods to separate the victorious phages from the toxic soup of destroyed bacteria. It was a delicate balancing act, ensuring the treatment would be potent enough to fight the infection without causing harm to Tom’s already fragile system.
Legal hurdles also had to be overcome, with lawyers expressing concern about potential lawsuits. But Steffanie’s determination and connections helped smooth the way, bringing together institutions and individuals in an unprecedented collaboration.
A Leap of Faith
Three weeks after Steffanie’s desperate plea for help, doctors at UC San Diego were ready to attempt the experimental treatment. They started by injecting the purified phage cocktail directly into the abscesses in Tom’s abdomen, waiting anxiously to see if there would be any adverse reactions.
When no negative side effects appeared, they took the next bold step: injecting phages directly into Tom’s bloodstream to combat the bacteria that had spread throughout his body. It was a historic moment – Tom is believed to be the first person in the U.S. to receive intravenous phage therapy to treat a systemic superbug infection.
The Miracle Awakening
For three agonizing days, Tom’s family and medical team watched and waited. And then, in a moment that can only be described as miraculous, Tom lifted his head from the pillow and kissed his daughter’s hand.
It was the first sign that the phage therapy was working. The bacteria that had been ravaging Tom’s body for months were finally meeting their match. The perfect predators – bacteriophages – were turning the tide in a battle that antibiotics had been losing.
The Road to Recovery
Tom’s recovery wasn’t instant or easy. The long illness had taken its toll on his body, leaving him with diabetes, mild heart damage, and other health issues. But he was alive – something that had seemed impossible just weeks earlier.
Today, nearly eight years after his brush with death, Tom is enjoying his retirement. He walks three miles a day and tends to his garden. While he still faces some health challenges, he and Steffanie have returned to their love of travel, exploring the world with a new appreciation for life and the miraculous power of science.
Photo: Steffanie Strathdee
A Legacy of Hope
Tom’s case, published in a scientific journal in 2017, has reignited interest in phage therapy around the world. Clinical trials are now underway in numerous countries, exploring the potential of bacteriophages to combat a wide range of antibiotic-resistant infections.
Steffanie and Dr. Schooley have established the Center for Innovative Phage Applications and Therapeutics (IPATH) at UC San Diego, where they treat and counsel patients suffering from multidrug-resistant infections. Their success rate is impressive, with 82% of patients undergoing phage therapy experiencing positive outcomes.
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The Future of Fighting Superbugs
As antibiotic resistance continues to grow as a global health threat, the potential of bacteriophage therapy offers a ray of hope. Scientists are now exploring how phages and antibiotics can work together, potentially resensitizing bacteria to antibiotics that had previously lost their effectiveness.
While bacteriophages are unlikely to entirely replace antibiotics, they represent a powerful new tool in our arsenal against bacterial infections. As research continues, we may be entering a new era in the fight against superbugs – one where nature’s own predators help us overcome one of the greatest threats to modern medicine.
A Personal Mission
For Steffanie and Tom, their harrowing experience has become a personal mission. They’ve written a memoir, “The Perfect Predator: A Scientist’s Race to Save Her Husband From a Deadly Superbug,” to spread awareness about bacteriophages and the growing threat of antibiotic resistance.
Their story is inspiring a new generation of scientists and researchers. Steffanie receives messages from students as young as 12, eager to learn more about phage therapy and contribute to this emerging field of study.
As we face a future where antibiotic resistance threatens to undo a century of medical progress, stories like Tom’s remind us of the power of human determination, scientific innovation, and the untapped potential of the natural world to provide solutions to our most pressing medical challenges.
The next time you hear about bacteriophages or antibiotic resistance, remember Tom’s story. It’s a testament to the fact that even in our darkest hours, hope can be found in the most unexpected places – even in the form of microscopic viruses that have been waging war against bacteria since the dawn of life on Earth.
Hachette Books
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