Phage therapy was first developed early in this century and showed great promise. But with the advent of antibiotics in the 1940s, little research has continued in the West. Team members plan to use phages to control specific diseases in salmon caused by the bacterium Aeromonas salmonicida . Furunculosis, caused by this bacterium, is perhaps the most significant disease affecting fisheries. It shows few external clinical signs and causes kidney damage that can be fatal in just two days.
Furunculosis is treated with vaccines and antibiotics.
Overdependency on drugs poses harm to both fish and the environment. Once a collection of phage has been developed and its effectiveness tested, live subjects will be introduced. Team members are Elizabeth Kutter, Burton Guttman, Barbara Anderson, Yvonne Roberts and Theresa Nation.