Natural enemies of bacteria must combat tourist diarrhea

A new Danish research project from the University of Copenhagen, the Statens Serum Institut and the biotech company SNIPR Biome aims to create a product that can prevent traveler's diarrhea and save millions of travelers from illness. At the same time, it will reduce the need for antibiotics.

Traveler's diarrhea is the world's most common travel infection, affecting millions of people every year. The disease costs both travelers and society dearly in lost vacation days, hospitalizations, and treatment. Yet there is currently no recommended, effective prevention.

A new Danish research project will now change that.

A team of microbiologists from the University of Copenhagen, together with the Statens Serum Institut and the biotech company SNIPR Biome, has received an investment of 12.2 million kroner from Innovation Fund Denmark for the EntroGuard project, which will develop a new, natural preventive measure against traveler's diarrhea over the next four years.

The goal is ambitious: to be able to combat more than 90 percent of the bacteria that typically cause diarrhea in travelers.

“Traveller's diarrhea is a massive global problem, but at the same time an area where there has been virtually no innovation for decades. With EntroGuard, we have the opportunity to develop the first truly effective prevention,” says project leader and Professor of Microbiology at the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at the University of Copenhagen, Lars Hestbjerg Hansen.

Bacteriophages: Nature's own bacteria killers

The core of EntroGuard is a new biological method based on bacteriophages – naturally occurring viruses that exclusively attack bacteria.

The researchers are developing an enhanced phage cocktail, consisting of around 40 carefully selected and safe bacteriophages. The cocktail is combined with probiotic lactic acid bacteria in a capsule and is designed to specifically neutralize the bacteria that most commonly cause travelers' diarrhea, including E. coli, Salmonella , Campylobacter and Shigella .

The method is inspired by nature's own mechanisms for regulating bacteria in the environment.

"Bacteriophages are found everywhere where there are bacteria. We have found many of them in wastewater and other environments where pathogenic bacteria already live. It is nature's own way of keeping bacteria in balance - and we are now transferring that strategy to a product that can help people," says Professor Lars Hestbjerg Hansen.

Prevents antibiotic resistance

In addition to the potential to prevent millions of cases of disease, EntroGuard has an important additional benefit: the product can act as an alternative to antibiotics and thus help to slow the global spread of antibiotic resistance.

“By preventing infections before they occur, we reduce the need for antibiotics. This makes EntroGuard interesting – not only for travelers, but also in a broader global health perspective,” says Lars Hestbjerg Hansen.

The project brings together researchers from the University of Copenhagen, Statens Serum Institut and SNIPR Biome and combines expertise in microbiology, disease surveillance and development of bacteriophage-based products.

The goal is safe, natural and effective prevention that can improve travelers' everyday lives - while also contributing to solving a growing global health challenge.

Facts

• Innovation Fund Denmark's investment: DKK 12.2 million.
• Total budget: DKK 16.4 million.
• Duration: 4 years (2026-2030)
• Official title: EntroGuard - Developing the first efficient bacteriophage product against enteropathogenic bacteria causing travelers' diarrhea and other infections

About the partners

EMG group, University of Copenhagen

Environmental Microbial Genomics, led by Professor Lars Hansen, is an internationally recognized research group with many years of experience in bacteriophages – from characterization and genome sequencing to preservation. The group has a biobank with more than 800 well-characterized bacteriophages, many of which are active against human pathogenic bacteria, and has developed efficient high-throughput methods for the isolation of new bacteriophages.

SNIPR biome

SNIPR is a Danish biotech company in clinical development, pioneering CRISPR medicine by precisely targeting bacteria or genetically modifying bacterial cells. The company was the first to administer CRISPR therapy orally to humans. SNIPR001 is currently being tested in a Phase 1b study at eight US cancer centers, with support from CARB-X, and the technology is also being used in collaborations with several international organizations.

National Serum Institute

The Section for Foodborne Infections at Statens Serum Institut monitors intestinal infections, which are typically transmitted via food and water. The team analyzes bacteria from patients and therefore has in-depth knowledge of which bacteria cause illness in Denmark and in connection with travel abroad. The section provides both its expert knowledge and a unique material of previously analyzed bacteria for the project.