Lebensretter Ostblockviren (2012)

movie

Country: Germany
Genres: Documentary
Release: 2012-01-26
Director: Stefanie Schmidt
Writers: Stefanie Schmidt
Language: German
Stars: N/A
Runtime: min
Awards: N/A
AKA: Lebensretter Ostblockviren , Lebensretter Ostblockviren (Germany)
Plot: The film deals with the global antibiotics crisis. Following the touching case of a patient whose condition seems incurable, we observe the limits and possibilities of phage therapy, an alternative naturopathic treatment from Georgia that is making quite an impression on Western doctors. The documentary tells the fateful story of Henri Lemaitre, an electrician who survives a tragic fall from the fifth floor of a building and becomes infected with perilous resistant bacteria during his hospital stay. After various unsuccessful antibiotic treatments, his leg could require amputation. But Henri is desperately seeking an alternative cure. He thereby comes upon the Parisian Dr. Dublanchet, who has been experimenting with a naturopathic treatment: bacteriophages - viruses which attack and destroy certain bacteria but have no further affect on the human body. This cure is much older than the use of antibiotics, but was forgotten during the proliferation of antibiotic usage in the 1950s - at least in Europe. In the Soviet Bloc, during the Cold War, antibiotics were difficult to obtain. As a result, the doctors used bacteriophages. The georgian Eliava Institute was responsible for the development of the production and medication of phages in the whole Eastern Bloc. Until the fall of the Soviet Union, the institute was prospering; today it is nearly broke. While the method is still used in Georgia, it is not authorized in Europe, and due to the commercial interests of the pharmaceutical industry, is difficult to market. To learn more about this therapy and find a remedy against the resistant germ infecting his patient, Dr. Dublanchet travels to Georgia to undertake his research.
IMDB:tt2146260