Hunt is on for viruses to kill 'nasty' bacteria

Originally produced on page 3 of the Kalgoorlie Miner - Friday 22 May 2026.

Bacteria-destroying viruses that naturally occur in the Goldfields will be collected and used to treat antibiotic-resistant infections.

The project will be led by Associate Professor Anthony Kicic, who will work alongside local Indigenous communities to search land and water for naturally occurring bacteriophages.

Mr Kicic works with The Kids Research Institute, and his team has already collected bacteriophages from hundreds of land and water samples in Perth.

“These are little viruses that live out in nature — in soil and in water — and they hunt, attack, and kill nasty bugs that can actually infect us and make us sick,” he said.

“What we would like to do is find them and make them into medicines and treat kids who are sick with these bugs and resistant-to-antibiotic infections.

“We are now very hopeful of extending that search to the Goldfields, where we believe we can find local phages to treat local infections,” he said.

Bacteriophages, or phages, specifically target and destroy bacteria by injecting their DNA into bacterial cells, and can be used as an alternative to traditional antibiotics.

Phage therapy can be useful in the fight against antimicrobial resistance — which has been identified as one of the top global health threats by the World Health Organisation.

Mr Kicic said his team had already successfully treated four patients in WA with phage therapy.

“We were able to establish a manufacturing facility in 2024, and I’m very delighted to say we participated in treating four cases here in WA, and all four were successfully treated,” he said.

“There are millions of different types of phages in the environment. The more we collect and understand how they work, the more bacterial infections we will be able to fight.”

Children at The Kids STEM Festival in Kalgoorlie-Boulder this week were introduced to Mr Kicic’s work and learnt where bacteriophages were sourced and how they are matched to target harmful bacteria.

Minister for Science and Innovation Stephen Dawson visited Mr Kicic in the Goldfields on Thursday and told the Kalgoorlie Miner his phage work would save lives.

“The work Anthony has undertaken in the metropolitan area, along with the Noongar people, has helped treat very ill West Australians,” he said.

“We’re confident that once Anthony completes his work consulting with traditional owners in this part of the world, Goldfields residents will benefit.

“We’ve been incredibly proud to support Anthony’s work over the past few years through our future health research and innovation fund.”