What is needed for phage therapy to become a reality in Western medicine?

The current status of phage therapy approaches is reviewed and possible hurdles to a practical medical application of bacteriophages in Western countries are identified as discussed at a recent EMBO meeting on Viruses of Microbes in Brussels. In view of the growing antibiotic resistance crisis, a coordinated effort by the public health sector is needed to evaluate the potential of phage therapy as an adjunct to antibiotics. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.