Russia uses bacteriophages (phages) instead of antibiotics.
The bacteriophages (phages) that Russia uses is a type of virus which infects and kills bacteria and is used as an alternative to antibiotics, most particularly in treating of antibiotic resistant infections.
Phage therapy has also been practiced in the former Soviet Union for decades as a result of limited access to antibiotics.
Infections that cannot be cured with antibiotics are viral infections because viruses are fundamentally different from bacteria that causes bacterial infections.
Antibiotics target the bacteria which are microorganisms that cause bacterial infections.
Examples of viral infections that cannot be cured or treated with antibiotics are the flu, common cold, sore throat in most cases, chickenpox, cough in most cases, measles, Rubella and mumps.
Some bacterial infections can also develop a resistance to antibiotics and make them difficult to treat although these infections are often treated with different antibiotics or even a combination of antibiotics.
The top three antibiotics are Amoxicillin, Amoxicillin clavulanate or Augmentin and Azithromycin.
Amoxicillin is a penicillin type antibiotic which is often the first choice for many common types of infections such as skin infections, pneumonia, ear infections and even urinary tract infections.
Amoxicillin clavulanate or Augementin is a combination antibiotic that combines amoxicillin with clavulanate, which helps to overcome some certain types of bacterial resistance.
Augmentin is frequently used in treating of ear infections, respiratory tract infections and other conditions in which resistance may be a concern.
Azithromycin is a macrolide antibiotic which is effective against a range of bacteria and is often used for skin infections, some sexually transmitted infections and respiratory infections.
The most powerful or potent antibiotics are carbapenems like imipenem and meropenem and are used for more serious infections or when resistance to antibiotics occurs.
Vancomycin is also another powerful antibiotic and is often used as a last resort due to it's effectiveness against multi drug resistant bacteria, although resistance to vancomycin has also emerged in some strains.
A newly discovered antibiotic is Clovibactin, which also shows great promise in combating of multi drug resistant bacteria by targeting of a broad spectrum of pathogens in a unique way.