Urinary tract infections, or UTIs, are a very common health issue. Around half of all women will have at least one UTI in their lifetime. Many women also suffer from repeated infections, which can be painful and frustrating.
UTIs cause burning, discomfort, and the frequent urge to urinate. If they are not treated, they can lead to more serious health problems, including kidney infections. Treating UTIs has become more difficult because some bacteria no longer respond to antibiotics. This means doctors often don’t know which medicine will work best.
Usually, doctors have to prescribe antibiotics before they know which bacteria is causing the infection. That’s because current lab tests take several days to find the answer. This delay can lead to the wrong antibiotics being used, which may not help the patient and can make antibiotic resistance worse.
Now, scientists from ETH Zurich, working with Balgrist University Hospital, have made an exciting breakthrough. They developed a fast test that can find out which bacteria is causing a UTI in just a few hours. The test uses tiny viruses called bacteriophages, or phages, which naturally attack bacteria.
These phages have been specially chosen and changed in the lab so they are even better at attacking harmful bacteria. The team focused on the three bacteria that cause most UTIs: E. coli, Klebsiella, and Enterococci.
They found phages that target these bacteria and made a change so that when the phages attack, the bacteria glow with a light signal. This lets doctors see the infection in less than four hours, using a urine sample.
This quick test helps doctors give the right antibiotic right away. That means patients can get better faster, and the risk of antibiotic resistance goes down.
Phage therapy is not a new idea—it has been around for more than 100 years. But after antibiotics like penicillin were discovered, phages were used less in Western countries. Now that antibiotic resistance is a growing problem, phage therapy is making a strong comeback.
Phages work like smart weapons. They only attack the specific bacteria they are meant to destroy. This makes them a safer and more precise treatment than regular antibiotics.
The ETH Zurich team went even further. They didn’t just use phages to kill bacteria. They also changed the phages so that when they infect bacteria, they also produce special proteins called bacteriocins. These proteins are toxic to bacteria and help kill them faster. This double attack makes the phage therapy even more powerful.
Next, the team plans to test their treatment in real patients. They are getting ready for clinical trials, which will help show how well this therapy works in the real world. While it will take time, this research is a big step forward.
Matthew Dunne, one of the lead scientists, says many studies are now exploring phage therapy. However, before it can be widely used, more research and changes in health rules are needed. Because phages are living organisms that can change, special rules must be created to manage them safely.
In summary, this new test and therapy could completely change how UTIs and other infections are treated. It gives doctors faster answers and more precise tools to fight harmful bacteria. It could also help solve the growing problem of antibiotic resistance.
This study is part of a larger effort to improve healthcare. Other research has looked at how common painkillers may affect bone health, while foods like Jarlsberg cheese and vitamins may help prevent fractures.
The UTI research, published in Nature Communications, is an exciting development that may shape the future of infection treatment.
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