'The next pandemic could be antibiotic-resistant bacteria'

Norwegian fish health group STIM is building a NOK 500 million ($56 million/€47 million) facility to study and develop an organism that could be key to reducing antibiotic-resistant bacteria in farmed fish and other animals -- including humans.

Bacteriophages, a type of virus that kills or controls bacteria, isn't a foreign substance and, in fact, they are inside most animals in the billions. But usage and research on the organism declined dramatically after antibiotics became widespread.

The emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria as a global health concern, however, has made bacteriophages an exciting "new" development with potential to save tens of thousands of lives, STIM CEO Jim-Roger Nordly told IntraFish.