Finally: A faster, more effective way to treat UTIs could be on its way

For those who have recurring UTIs, you’ll know just how painful and inconvenient they can be.

Now there’s new hope for sufferers of UTIs after a laboratory breakthrough.

A new DNA sequencing device created by scientists from the University of East Anglia (UEA) can detect bacteria directly from urine samples four times more quickly than traditional methods.

Scientists say this new technology, the size of a USB stick, could lead to faster treatment and better use of antibiotics.

Professor David Livermore, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said there was a need to move beyond the current approach to treating urinary tract infections (UTIs).

“The way to do so lies in accelerating laboratory investigation, so that treatment can be refined earlier, benefitting the patient, who gets an effective antibiotic, and society, whose diminishing stock of antibiotics is better managed,” he said, reports BBC.

The device can also detect resistance to antibiotics, and “Swift results like these will make it possible to refine a patient’s treatment much earlier – and that’s good for the patient, who gets the ‘right’ antibiotic, and for society – which can better manage or ‘steward’ its limited supply of antibiotics,” said Dr Justin O’Grady.

Here’s hoping that this technology can be trialled here, as UTIs are among one of the most common health issues for both men and women.

Have you had difficulty getting treatment or getting rid of your urinary infection?