It gave Isabelle three extra years
IN 2019, Isabelle CarnellHoldaway became the first patient in the world to be successfully treated using phage therapy for a drugresistant infection following a lung transplant.
The 16-year-old from Kent, who was treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital, suffered from cystic fibrosis. The disease causes sticky mucus to develop inside the lungs, which can harbour dangerous infections.
A particularly severe bug – mycobacterium abscessus – had infected Isabelle and, after antibiotics failed, she was told she would need a double lung transplant. After the surgery, the infection still remained in her body and Isabelle’s family were told she had less than a one per cent chance of survival.
Much like the case of Tom Patterson (see the box on the right), the idea to use phage therapy came after Isabelle’s mother, Jo, read about it online.
Doctors at Great Ormond
Street agreed to contact a phage lab in the US. Three phages were picked out – two of which were genetically modified to make them more effective.
Isabelle received two phage infusions, via an intravenous drip, every day for nearly three years.
Jo, 55, a full-time carer for her daughter, was able to administer the treatment at home. The treatment was a success and Isabelle survived. She went back to school to study for her A-levels and learned to drive. ‘Getting phage therapy was a miracle for Isabelle’, says Jo.
‘Her health improved and she was able to do things normal teenagers did. It opened the door to a new life for her.’
Problems arose when Isabelle turned 19 and was transferred from a children’s hospital to one for adults. Isabelle’s bug had returned and become resistant to the phages she was taking. She needed a new phage cocktail from the US, but the new doctors would not help.
‘They said they had never worked with phage before and were very resistant to learning,’ says Jo. ‘They refused to help get the new cocktail because they said they didn’t have the research lab to study it.
‘One even told me he doubted phage was effective. I was so shocked as this treatment had kept my daughter alive.’
Isabelle quickly began to deteriorate and passed away on February 1.
Jo says: ‘Isabelle was feisty and independent. She loved how phage had changed her life for the better. It’s great news more patients could get phage on the NHS but doctors need to educate themselves about its importance. What happened to Isabelle cannot be allowed to happen again.’