The Eliava Bacteriophage Institute in Tbilisi, Georgia, celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, we’ve put together a series of videos featuring testimonials from the Institute’s medical staff. On the program: the history of phagotherapy, which pathologies can be treated, the profile of patients who come to Georgia for treatment, patient support, etc.

We begin with an introduction from the young and dynamic director of the Eliava Phage Therapy Center, David Sturua. As he explains,“The Eliava Institute was founded in 1923 by the famous Georgian scientist Giorgi Eliava. Canadian scientist Félix d’Hérelle, co-discoverer of bacteriophages, contributed enormously to the Institute’s development.”

ELIAVA PHAGOTHERAPY CENTER

The success of this practice, which has become unique in the world since the advent of antibiotics, led the Eliava Institute to“set up a dedicated treatment section in 2009. Thisis the ‘Eliava Center for Phage Therapy’, whose main objective is to use bacteriophages to treat bacterial infections“, and whose director is Davit Sturua.

“As a reminder, and this is the discovery that Félix d’Hérelle made in 1917 at the Pasteur Institute, bacteriophage is a good virus that is applied for treatment against bacteria.” The main areas of application for the ‘Centre Eliava de la Phagothérapie’ are“dermatology, gastroenterology, surgery, gynecology and urology.”

PATIENTS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD

“Every year, we serve patients from over 80 countries around the world, many of them in Europe. And we do all we can to help people who are suffering from antibiotic resistance and have run out of other solutions. And who are trying to find an alternative where other antibacterial means no longer work. And so they come to our center for treatment.”

Thank you Davit for the invaluable help you give our patients every day!