Imma Perfetto
Cosmos science journalist
A potential alternative to antibiotics for treatment of recurrent urinary tract infections has been shown to prevent UTIs for up to 9 years in 54% of people given the oral spray-based vaccine.
The initial results from the first long-term follow-up study on the safety and effectiveness of the MV140 vaccine are being presented this weekend at the European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress in Paris.
“Before having the vaccine, all our participants suffered from recurrent UTIs, and for many women, these can be difficult to treat,” says one of the research leaders, Dr Bob Yang, a Consultant Urologist at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.
“Nine years after first receiving this new UTI vaccine, [about] half of the participants remained infection-free.
“Overall, this vaccine is safe in the long term and our participants reported having fewer UTIs that were less severe. Many of those who did get a UTI told us that simply drinking plenty of water was enough to treat it.”
The MV140 vaccine contains inactivated whole bacteria of the four major species known to cause recurrent UTIs: Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterococcus faecalis, and Proteus vulgaris.
The bacteria are administered in two sprays of a pineapple-flavoured liquid under the tongue every day for 3 months. In the original trial 89 patients (72 women and 17 men) received the vaccine at The Urology Partnership Reading in the UK, and interim results were published in the British Journal of Urology in 2017.
The latest results indicate that the average infection-free period across the cohort was 54.7 months (4.5 years) – 56.7 months for women and 44.3 months for men.
“This is a very easy vaccine to administer and could be given by GPs as a 3-month course. Many of our participants told us that having the vaccine restored their quality of life,” says Yang.
“While we’re yet to look at the effect of this vaccine in different patient groups, this follow-up data suggests it could be a game changer for UTI prevention if it’s offered widely, reducing the need for antibiotic treatments.”
Gernot Bonkat, Professor of Urology at the Alta Uro Medical Centre for Urology in Switzerland and Chairman of the EAU Guidelines on Urological Infections, says the findings are promising.
“Recurrent UTIs are a substantial economic burden and the overuse of antibiotic treatments can lead to antibiotic-resistant infections,” says Bonkat.
“This follow-up study reveals encouraging data about the long-term safety and effectiveness of the MV140 vaccine. Further research into more complex UTIs is needed, as well as research looking at different groups of patients, so we can better optimise how to use this vaccine.”
