Editing Bacteriophage (section)

== In humans ==
Although phages do not infect humans, there are countless phage particles in the human body, given the extensive [[human microbiome]]. One's phage population has been called the human [[phageome]], including the "healthy gut phageome" (HGP) and the "diseased human phageome" (DHP).<ref name="Manrique_2016">{{cite journal | vauthors = Manrique P, Bolduc B, Walk ST, van der Oost J, de Vos WM, Young MJ | title = Healthy human gut phageome | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America | volume = 113 | issue = 37 | pages = 10400–10405 | date = September 2016 | pmid = 27573828 | pmc = 5027468 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.1601060113 | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2016PNAS..11310400M }}</ref> The active phageome of a healthy human (i.e., actively replicating as opposed to nonreplicating, integrated [[prophage]]) has been estimated to comprise dozens to thousands of different viruses.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Minot S, Sinha R, Chen J, Li H, Keilbaugh SA, Wu GD, Lewis JD, Bushman FD | title = The human gut virome: inter-individual variation and dynamic response to diet | journal = Genome Research | volume = 21 | issue = 10 | pages = 1616–1625 | date = October 2011 | pmid = 21880779 | pmc = 3202279 | doi = 10.1101/gr.122705.111 }}</ref>
There is evidence that bacteriophages and bacteria interact in the [[Gut microbiota|human gut microbiome]] both antagonistically and beneficially.<ref name="Kirsch"/>

Preliminary studies have indicated that common bacteriophages are found in 62% of healthy individuals on average, while their prevalence was reduced by 42% and 54% on average in patients with [[ulcerative colitis]] (UC) and [[Crohn's disease]] (CD).<ref name="Manrique_2016" /> Abundance of phages may also decline in the elderly.<ref name="Kirsch"/>

The most common phages in the human intestine, found worldwide, are [[crAssphage]]s. CrAssphages are transmitted from mother to child soon after birth, and there is some evidence suggesting that they may be transmitted locally. Each person develops their own unique crAssphage clusters. CrAss-like phages also may be present in [[primates]] besides humans.<ref name="Kirsch">{{cite journal | vauthors = Kirsch JM, Brzozowski RS, Faith D, Round JL, Secor PR, Duerkop BA | title = Bacteriophage-Bacteria Interactions in the Gut: From Invertebrates to Mammals | journal = Annual Review of Virology | volume = 8 | issue = 1 | pages = 95–113 | date = September 2021 | pmid = 34255542 | pmc = 8484061 | doi = 10.1146/annurev-virology-091919-101238 | doi-access = free }}</ref>