Are antibiotics currently the main treatment for urinary tract infections?
Dr. Mobley: The treatment is antibiotics, and for the most part, this can be effective, but we’re beginning to see increasing resistance to antibiotics in the bacteria that cause these infections, and that’s of particular concern. There are batteries of antibiotics that can’t be used in those cases where they have an infection with an antibiotic-resistant bacterium. Have you developed a way to prevent urinary tract infections altogether? Dr. Mobley: We’ve developed a vaccine to prevent these infections. It’s at its early stages, but shows promise. How would this vaccine work? Dr. Mobley: Currently, we’re using an intra-nasal vaccine, similar to some of the flu vaccinations where we spray up the nose. A couple of doses of this will protect the bladder. Who needs to get the vaccine? Dr. Mobley: You could give it to those people that are prone to infections. First, we’d probably look at more of the student population, particularly those women that have recurrent infections. There’s a cert
