Swiss scientists have developed an entirely new therapeutic approach for cystitis. In the future, special viruses will be able to track down the bacteria that cause the inflammation. Until then, a newly developed rapid test should improve conventional antibiotic treatment.
The pathogens of urinary tract infections are becoming increasingly resistant to the antibiotics used, as reported by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich. In the longer term, new therapeutic approaches are therefore needed.
New rapid test developed
Scientists at ETH Zurich have found one. In addition, they developed a new rapid test in collaboration with Balgrist University Hospital. Both the therapeutic approach and the new test are based on bacteria-infecting viruses, so-called phages.
Although phage therapies have been known for a long time, they fell into obscurity in Western industrialized countries with the discovery of penicillin. Phages have the decisive advantage of only specifically attacking a single target bacterium.
phages genetically modified
The downside, however, is that the phages do not completely kill their host, the disease-causing bacteria. To solve this problem and increase the effectiveness of the phages, the researchers genetically modified them. The therapy is still in the laboratory stage – there is still a long way to go before it can be used on a large scale.
The new rapid test, which is also based on phages, can be deployed more quickly. When treating cystitis, doctors often face a dilemma: Although antibiotic resistance is on the rise, they are often forced to blindly prescribe one.
Because with conventional diagnostics it takes several days to determine the exact pathogen. With the new rapid test, the pathogen can be identified within hours. Once this is known, a more specific antibiotic can be chosen. This prevents the formation of resistance.
Source: Krone
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