Dean of Collegium Medicum prof. Sławomir Letkiewicz and his international success

From November 30 to December 2, 2023, the Kaohsiung International Invention and Design Expo was held in Taiwan. Dean of the Wladyslaw Bieganski Collegium Medicum of Jan Dlugosz University in Czestochowa, dr hab. n. med., dr n. hum., (filozofia), dr. h. c. Sławomir Letkiewicz  prof. UJD successfully participated in the International Invention and Design Fair in Kaohsiung 2023, Taiwan. His invention, presented in Asia, was granted patent protection in Poland. It was a medicinal preparation for use in the treatment of multi-antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. It was submitted to a competition called "Phage preparation for rectal use". A team of researchers from Jan Dlugosz University in Czestochowa and the Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy in Wrocław of the Polish Academy of Sciences, who presented the invention was awarded a silver medal in the competition of 445 inventions and patents from 30 different countries.

The problem of antibiotic resistance in bacteria is considered to be one of the greatest global threats to humanity. In the United Kingdom, the risks associated with this phenomenon were assessed and compared to those related to global warming and global terrorism. A British report found that antibiotic resistance in bacteria causes about 700,000 deaths a year due to the lack of an effective antibacterial drug. In the absence of intervention by the endangered human population, the number of deaths caused by drug-resistant bacteria will reach around 10 million by 2050.

In 2005, approximately 100,000 infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were documented in the United States. Of these infections, one in five was fatal due to a lack of effective antibiotics. During hospitalizations, approximately two million patients are infected with antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains annually in the U.S. 

Some experts believe that we are approaching the pre-antibiotic era. The latest antibiotic to be invented is Linezolid. It was introduced into industrial production in 2000. No antibiotic has been mass-produced for 25 years. 

Other alternative treatments for bacterial infections are being sought. One of these methods is the treatment of multiantibiotic-resistant bacterial infections with bacterial viruses – bacteriophages. Bacteriophages (phages) are bacterial viruses capable of destroying bacterial cells. That is why they are used in the so-called phage therapy to treat bacterial infections. Due to the different mechanism of action observed in antibiotics, bacteriophages can be used to treat infections caused by antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. To kill the bacteria, it is enough to reach the infected area with a small amount of virions. The action of phages is specific, i.e. phages are active against one or more related strains of bacteria, and it can be directed against bacteria that have acquired resistance to available antibiotics and are the cause of life-threatening infections. Phage therapy does not disturb the balance of the natural microflora, which may be a consequence of antibiotic therapy. It is worth noting that the only field in which Polish science has the first place in the world is bacteriophage therapy. 

This is not the only success of the Dean