Fighting a wee problem... with a simple spray

PAINFUL urinary tract infections – a condition that plagues millions of Britons – could soon be prevented by a simple vaccine. The treatment, administered as a mouth spray under the tongue, helps the body fight the bacteria that cause the problem, which is often known as cystitis. In a new trial, 80 per cent of women given the treatment had no more infections for the next year.

Doctors say the vaccine, which uses harmless, inactivated versions of bacteria that cause urinary tract infections (UTIs) to prime the body against them, could significantly reduce the use of antibiotics, helping to tackle the growing problem of antibiotic resistance.

Infections occur when the urinary tract, which comprises the kidneys, bladder and the tubes that run between them, becomes overrun by bacteria.

Symptoms include the frequent urge to urinate, pain during urination and abdominal discomfort. Women are up to 30 times more likely to suffer than men because their urethra – the tube through which urine leaves the body – is shorter than a man’s and closer to the back passage. More than half of women will have at least one UTI in their lifetime, and a third of these suffer three or more episodes a year.

Antibiotics are the main treatment once an infection strikes, but women with recurring infections are often prescribed a longterm, low-dose antibiotic to help prevent an episode. However, in some women even these fail to work – and these patients were targeted in the new trial.

The vaccine works by triggering the immune system into recognising the infection-causing bacteria. Called Uromune, it is made up of bacteria commonly found to cause UTIs.

They are inactivated – meaning they have been cultured and then killed by scientists so they cannot cause disease – but are still recognised by the immune system to create antibodies.

New research published in the British Journal Of Urology has declared the treatment highly successful.

The trial involved 75 women, aged between 18 and 87, who had the treatment privately at Reading Urology Partnership.

A daily dose of the vaccine, administered under the tongue, was given for three months. During the treatment and in the following year, 78 per cent of the women remained infection-free, and 90 per cent of those who still suffered were post-menopausal – their weakened immune system was thought to be to blame.

The vaccine is a promising alternative to antibiotics, which, according to a recent review by researchers at the University of Exeter, are ineffective for about 30 per cent of UTI patients due to resistance.

The researchers are currently running a trial with NHS patients at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading.

‘Our results suggest that the vaccine is both safe and very effective in women with recurrent UTIs, and most of the patients remained infection-free since the start of the treatment,’ says Steve Foley, consultant urologist at the Royal Berkshire, and senior author of the study.

‘We have subsequently given the vaccine to 15 men, and we are seeing similar results.

‘The vaccine has strong potential as a new therapy in the treatment of women with recurrent UTIs. Patient satisfaction rates are high, especially with the straightforward and pain-free use of the vaccine.’