Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) are a common problem for many people.
Half of all women and one out of every five men will face this painful condition at some point in their lives.
What’s worse is that for 20 to 30% of these people, UTIs keep coming back, requiring frequent antibiotic treatments.
But there’s good news on the horizon. A new study has shown that an oral spray vaccine, known as MV140, could protect over half of those treated from getting UTIs again for up to nine years.
The excitement around this discovery was shared at a big meeting in Paris for urology experts, the European Association of Urology Congress.
This vaccine seems like a big deal because it worked for a long time without causing any serious side effects. By the end of 2024, the researchers hope to share even more details about their findings.
UTIs happen when bacteria get into the urinary tract, leading to an infection. They’re not only very common but are also becoming harder to treat with antibiotics due to the rise of drug-resistant bacteria. This is why the search for new treatments, like the MV140 vaccine, is so crucial.
The study was carried out by doctors at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in the UK. They revisited patients who had taken the MV140 vaccine as part of an earlier trial.
This vaccine is quite unique because it’s a spray that you take under your tongue, flavored like pineapple, every day for three months. This was the first study to look at how well and how safely it works over a long period – nine years, to be exact.
Dr. Bob Yang, one of the lead researchers, explained that before getting the vaccine, all the participants had been struggling with UTIs that kept coming back. The good news is that about half of them didn’t get any UTIs for nine years after the vaccine.
Those who did get UTIs found them less severe, and sometimes, drinking lots of water was enough to handle the infection. This simple treatment could be a big relief and significantly improve the quality of life for many.
The initial part of their research, which focused on women, was shared with the world in 2017. For this long-term follow-up, the researchers talked to the participants again and checked their health records.
They found that on average, people didn’t get UTIs for about four and a half years after the vaccine. Some even went back for more doses after a year or two, hoping to keep the infections away for longer.
Experts outside of the study, like Professor Gernot Bonkat, see a lot of promise in these findings.
UTIs are not only painful for those who get them but also costly for healthcare systems. This vaccine could reduce the need for antibiotics, helping fight the problem of antibiotic resistance.
The MV140 vaccine was developed by a company in Spain and is now available in 26 countries, even though it’s not officially approved everywhere yet. The study included 72 women and 17 men, all over 18, who didn’t have any other major urinary problems.
The discovery of the MV140 vaccine opens up new possibilities for preventing UTIs. It could be a game-changer, offering a safe and effective way to protect people from this recurring problem without relying on antibiotics.
More research is needed, especially on different types of UTIs and in various groups of people. But for now, there’s hope that one day, UTIs could become much less of a nuisance for millions of people around the world.
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