All of us know that bacteria are harmful for humans but it is not true always. Although some bacteria cause many diseases, they can also save lives. There are some friendly bacteria present in the environment and researchers have been trying to use these bacteria to give people medical treatment. Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Befidobacterium and some other friendly species have already been used as probiotic. After taking antibiotics, patients feel sick due to the loss of beneficial bacteria in the intestine. If the patients take probiotic, they will feel better.
One can easily understand the role of friendly bacteria. Bacteria may be used as an anti-cancer drug. A group of scientists in Germany has found that people with cancer come round when infected by specific bacteria like Streptococcus pyogenes, serratia marcescens etc. German physicians W. Busch and F. Fehleisen and the American physician William Coley, in 1800, invented a vaccine from bacteria for the treatment of cancer. It was popular treatment at that time as people recovered soon.
Clostridium difficile creates diarrhoea as the effect of taking antibiotics and it cannot be removed by another antibiotic treatment. In that case, microbiologists have been trying to infect people giving bacterial pills. Microbiologists and some other scientists have done a clinical trial and they have gotten satisfactory result because that bacterial pill contains some bacteria that can inhibit or kill clostridium difficile.
Bacteria can produce insulin if human insulin DNA is incorporated into Escherichia coli, used for diabetic patients. The technology is called recombinant DNA technology (rDNA). Interferon, filgrastim and many other anti-cancer drugs are produced by using this technique.
There are many bacteria that are our friends and we can use those for modern research. Pharmaceutical companies of Bangladesh should start the application of friendly bacteria in manufacturing drugs for treatment of people.
Easir Abedin
Manager, Quality Control
Apex Pharma Ltd
e_abedin@yahoo.com
Use of friendly bacteria in medical science
FE Team | Published: February 03, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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