PRAYAGRAJ: A story of hardship, friendship and scientific persistence has led to a breakthrough in the fight against drug-resistant infections, as two young researchers mentored by Prof Gyaneshwar Chaubey of Banaras Hindu University have identified a bacteriophage that can kill a dangerous hospital-linked bacterium. The researchers, 32-year-old Sovon Acharya from Kolkata and 30-year-old Parmanand Kushwaha from Kannauj, discovered a new virus that targets Proteus mirabilis, a bacterium known to cause severe urinary tract infections and to resist treatment by forming protective biofilms. Their work, shaped by poverty, repeated setbacks and personal tragedy, was published last month in the journal Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology by Springer. The newly identified bacteriophage has been named “Proteus phage ram_arti_1324” in memory of Parmanand’s mother, Ram Arti, whose death during his research became a defining moment in the project.
