Illustration by Maxim Usik / Ikon Images

Right now, any mention of viruses is likely to spark panic. The emergence of the deadly hantavirus on a cruise ship has triggered all the worst memories of the early stages of the Covid pandemic, just as the global health community is reacting to a new outbreak of ebola. So let me take this opportunity to stand up for viruses – or rather, to flag a type of virus that could be the solution to one of the biggest medical challenges of our age, not another horror story.

Enter bacteriophages – phages for short and Greek for “bacteria eaters”. They are “our enemies’ enemy”: viruses that kill bacterial infections. In a world where antibiotic resistance is threatening modern medicine as we know it – contributing to more than 35,000 deaths each year in the UK alone – we need all the help we can get.…