Researchers at the University of the Mediterranean, France have discovered a new type of virus that spreads at the expense of other viruses and could be used to combat viral infections.

The team says “Sputnik” is the first member of a new class they call “virophages” because of similarities with bacteriophages or phages (viruses that infect bacteria) and is the first time a virus has been seen to propagate at the expense of a viral host.