A “close relative” of the damaging E. coli strain could offer a brand new treatment for urinary tract infections, researchers say.
Researchers at Texas A&M are working on developing a tool that harmless strains of E. coliwhich was first discovered within the Nineteen Seventies, is claimed to inhibit the expansion of harmful bacteria that cause urinary tract infections, in accordance with a university press release dated September 17.
According to the researchers, the great E. coli strain is helpful since it consumes all of the nutrients that bad E. coli and other urinary tract infection-causing bacteria resembling Staphylococcus have to survive.
“The urinary tract becomes so heavily colonized with the good strain that the harmful bacteria cannot grow, preventing urinary tract infections,” the researchers said within the press release.
The goal is to make use of a hydrogel device much like a contact lens and loaded with live E. coli bacteria that may “float freely in the bladder and slowly release” helpful bacteria into the urinary tract, stopping bad bacteria from thriving, the researchers said.
Continuous use of antibiotics in people vulnerable to frequent urinary tract infections, including those with spinal cord injuries and menopausal women, can have long-term “negative effects on the gut microbiome and overall health,” the researchers said.
“Using 'good' bacteria to fight 'bad' bacteria opens up all sorts of new treatment and prevention options, and not just for urinary tract infections,” Associate Professor Dr. Sarguru Subash said within the press release.
The project is a collaboration between researchers from the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and the College of Engineering at Texas A&M University.
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