Bacteria might cause bladder re-infection

ST. LOUIS, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A U.S. study suggested that intracellular bacteria that commonly exist in women with bladder infections might contribute to the recurrence of such infections.

Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Washington University in Seattle noted it was previously established in studies with mice that the E. coli bacterium avoids the immune system by invading cells lining the bladder, then replicates and ultimately reinfects the urinary tract.

The scientists said the existence of IBCs found in the new study suggests a similar cycle might also occur in people and that longer treatment with antibiotics that kill bacteria inside human cells might be necessary for some patients.

The research is reported in the open access journal PLoS Medicine and is also available at http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.0040329.