A Story of a Virus, Faith, and Hope That Saved His Life with John Haverty

What is Public Health with Dr. Kee Chan

"Never Give Up on Your Life" - John Haverty.

John Haverty is a chef, a family man, a patient who was battling a stubborn bacterial infection in his leg for over 10 years. He wasn’t able to walk and put both feet on the ground for over 10 year. Doctors at Mayo Clinic were about to amputate John's leg as the last resort until a virus (called Phage Therapy) saved his life.

Antibiotic resistance is now a public health crisis because we have these ’smart bacterial bug’ that can change and develop the ability to defeat the drugs that were designed to kill them. If you believe in miracle and want to believe in miracle, then this episode is for you and your loved one, who may be at struggling to find success with conventional Western Medicine and are considering to explore experimental therapy.

Why is Antibiotic resistance is a serious public health issue? The causes of antibiotic resistance are due to many reasons such as:

1. Over-prescription of antibiotics
2. Patients not finishing the entire antibiotic course
3. Overuse of antibiotics in livestock and fish farming
4. Poor infection control in health care settings
5. Poor hygiene and sanitation
6. Absence of new antibiotics being discovered

This episode will cover:

1. How John almost gave up on his leg until a supportive loved one helped him to find the courage to fight the last fight
2. What is phage therapy using Adaptive Phage Therapeutics
3. How can patient apply for the use of experimental therapy through the "compassion use clause with the Federal Drug and Administration (FDA)"
4 How phage therapy is administered in the clinic
5. What is the cost of phage therapy
6. How to advocate for your own life, because no one else will.

Resources:

1. Connect with John Haverty by email at [e-mail]
2. Learn more about the Adaptive Phage Therapeutics, a clinical-stage company founded to provide an effective therapy to global rise of multi-drug resistance pathogenic bacteria at http://www.aphage.com
3. Learn more about the research on phage therapy at University of California, San Diego (UCSD) https://medschool.ucsd.edu/som/medicine/divisions/idgph/research/center-innovative-phage-applications-and-therapeutics/Pages/default.aspx
4. Check out the book "The Perfect Predator: A Scientist's Race to Save Her Husband from a Deadly Superbug: A Memoir", by Stephanie Strathdee and Thomas Patterson
5. Connect with others on Facebook Group: Phage Page

This is the "What is Public Health Podcast" with your host Dr. Kee Chan. Public Health is the invisible force that keeps you healthy everyday, and I bet you didn’t even know it. This podcast is your source of the latest trend in public health, is a place to refresh your skill set and get quick tips on professional development so you can do your best work in serving the public. Discover the many, different, and exciting careers in public health. Connect with stories from people impacted by public health. To learn more about public health, connect with me at www.whatispublichealthpodcast.com

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