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UTIs make life miserable — scientists are finding new ways to tackle them

Researchers are developing vaccines and fresh drug approaches to prevent and treat recurring infections without antibiotics.
  1. Carissa Wong
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A single Ciprofloxacin tablet in its partially opened packaging.

Antibiotics are the standard treatment for UTIs, but they contribute to drug resistance. Credit: TEK Image/Science Photo Library via Alamy

As the threat of antibiotic resistance grows, researchers are developing ways to prevent recurrent and chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs) without using antibiotics. UTIs disproportionately affect women and can cause debilitating symptoms. The latest approaches include an oral vaccine — which, in trials, prevented recurrent UTIs in participants for up to nine years — as well as the development of non-antibiotic drugs. Scientists are also testing safer ways to use antibiotics, which often cause side effects, to treat the infections.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-01322-y

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 07 May 2024: The original version of this article gave an old affiliation for Ased Ali. This has been updated.

References

  1. Harding, C. et al. Health Technol. Assess. 26, 1–172 (2022).

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