Rediscovering Phages: The Forgotten Pioneers Behind Virus-Based Bacterial Control

In the 1890s, Ernest Hankin, a British bacteriologist working in colonial India, made a curious observation while investigating outbreaks of cholera and malaria. In 1896, he noted that water from the Ganges and Jumna (Yamuna) Rivers had a natural antibacterial effect against cholera. Even after passing the water through porcelain filters—which trap bacteria—the effect remained.

Hankin hypothesized that some unknown agent in the water was limiting the spread of the cholera epidemic. However, despite this groundbreaking insight, he did not pursue further investigation into the nature of this mysterious, invisible entity. His early clue into what would later be known as bacteriophages was largely overlooked at the time.

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Frederick Twort: A Missed Opportunity in Bacteriophage Discovery

A few years later, in the early 1900s, Frederick Twort, an English bacteriologist, observed a similar phenomenon. While experimenting with bacteria grown in artificial media, he found that some bacterial colonies were being killed by what he described as an “essential substance.” This agent was small enough to pass through porcelain filters and seemed to require the presence of bacteria to survive—leading Twort to speculate that it could be a virus.

Twort published his findings in 1915. However, his work failed to gain significant attention, in part due to the outbreak of World War I, limited resources, and a scientific community not yet ready to accept such novel ideas.

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Félix d’Hérelle and the Birth of the Bacteriophage

In 1917, Félix d’Hérelle, a French-Canadian microbiologist at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, made a more definitive discovery. While studying patients suffering from dysentery, he identified an invisible microbe that could kill specific bacteria. Like Twort’s agent, this mysterious entity could pass through porcelain filters and only replicated in the presence of bacteria.

D’Hérelle named this agent a “bacteriophage”—meaning “bacteria eater.” While he seemed aware of Twort’s earlier work, he did not give it the acknowledgment it deserved, and his own research became the recognized foundation of phage therapy.

Convinced of its therapeutic potential, d’Hérelle tested phage treatments at a Paris children’s hospital in 1919 for dysentery. He later co-founded a commercial lab to produce phage-based treatments targeting various bacterial infections, marking one of the earliest ventures into personalized microbial medicine.

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The Rise, Fall, and Revival of Phage Therapy

Phage therapy showed promise in its early days. These viruses that specifically infect and destroy bacteria—through a process called lysis—offered a targeted way to treat infections without harming human cells.

However, the discovery and widespread success of antibiotics in the 1940s caused enthusiasm for phages to decline sharply. Antibiotics were easier to produce, more broadly effective, and quickly became the gold standard in infection control.

But by the 1990s, the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria reignited interest in bacteriophages. Today, phage therapy is being explored worldwide as an alternative solution to combat multi-drug resistant infections. It remains in active medical use across Russia and Eastern Europe and is gaining momentum in Western clinical trials and research labs.

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Key Insights That Shape the Future of Infection Control

• Ernest Hankin’s early observation of antibacterial activity in river water hinted at phages long before they were formally identified.
• Frederick Twort’s discovery marked a missed opportunity in science—an early description of viruses that kill bacteria.
• Félix d’Hérelle formally introduced the world to bacteriophages, paving the way for phage therapy in medicine.
• Phages work with high precision, attacking only specific bacteria and leaving healthy cells untouched—unlike broad-spectrum antibiotics.
• Antibiotic resistance is reshaping medical priorities, making phage research more critical than ever before.
• Modern phage therapy holds promise for tackling superbugs, chronic infections, and even gut microbiome imbalances.
• Scientists today are revisiting the past, building on the work of these early pioneers to develop next-generation therapies.

A bacteriophage (or phage) is a virus that infects bacteria. The phage consists of a capsid head, which encloses its DNA, and a protein tail with fibers by which the phage attaches to a bacterium.