A team of researchers at Duke University has developed a vaccine against uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), the type of bacteria that cause urinary tract infections (UTIs) in humans. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes how they made their vaccine and its performance when tested in mice and rabbits.
Urinary tract infections are most common in women and can produce extreme pain during urination—they can also lead to other complications that, if not treated, can be fatal. Such infections are generally treated with antibiotics. Unfortunately, some women develop chronic infections, which means they experience UTIs several times a year.
In such circumstances, it becomes problematic to continue to prescribe antibiotics because they kill all the bacteria in the gut, which tends to cause other intestinal problems. In this new effort, the researchers have taken a new approach to dealing with UTIs, avoiding antibiotics in general and instead creating a pill that targets only the bacteria behind the infection.
medicalxpress.com/news/2022-11-vaccine-bacteria-utis.html