A first-of-its kind case in the U.S. led by a team at Rady Children’s Health that involved the use of phages to treat a cancer survivor who acquired a deadly skin infection elsewhere has been published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

The journal published the study on June 9, 2026. The first author is infectious disease expert Dr. Erlinda “Chulie” Ulloa, who collaborated with other specialists at RCH, formerly CHOC, in treating a 20-year-old woman with phages, naturally occurring viruses that attack pathogenic bacterial infections and offer an alternative when active antibiotics are no longer an option.

The Lancet Infectious Diseases is an authoritative forum for key opinion leaders across medicine, government, and health systems to influence clinical practice.