Women's urine is not sterile, says study

Contrary to popular belief, scientists have now discovered that women’s urine is not sterile.

According to the new research, experts have discovered bacteria is shared between the bladder and vagina.

The study, led by a Chicago team found huge number of different types, both toxic and beneficial, are transported between the two areas, including the deadly pathogen E.coli.

The new evidence counters the long-held conventional belief that the bladder and urine are free of bacteria.

Speaking about it, lead author of the study, Dr Alan Wolfe said that now that they know that bladder is not sterile, they have to reevaluate everything they thought they knew about the bladder.

The research team hope the study will lead to better diagnostic tests for urinary tract infections and other urinary tract disorders.

The researchers from Loyola University in Chicago sequenced the genes of 149 bacterial strains from 77 women and found that the bacterial microbiota - the bacterial community inside the body  - were similar in the bladder and vagina, but not in the gastrointestinal tract.

The scientists summarise that bacteria must be able to travel between the two organs via urine.

Previously, it was believed urine was sterile in healthy women, and that bacteria could be found in the bladder only during infections.

The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.