Staph bacteria under the microscope (pic: Pfizer)
Staphylococcus aureus is a common bacteria, but in a hospital environment strains which are resistant to many antibiotics can develop.
Researchers at the US National Institute of Child Health and Human Development believe that vaccination could be the answer.
Sugar solution
They have developed a vaccine based on two tiny sugar molecules found on the outer coat of the majority of S. aureus bacteria.
To make the vaccine, the team joined up the two sugars with a separate chemical protein - which did provoke the immune system into producing antibodies.
With the protein added, tests in mice showed that the immune system could respond to S. aureus.
They then tested the vaccine in a total of just under 1,900 dialysis patients, half of whom received the active vaccine, and half a harmless saline solution.
Dialysis patients are particularly vulnerable to S. aureus blood infections.
Fewer cases
In the first 40 weeks of the trial, the vaccinated group had 57% fewer instances of bacterial blood infection. After 40 weeks, the vaccine was less successful, but still better than the "placebo" group.
The effectiveness of a "booster" vaccine dose is now under test.
Professor Duane Alexander, the director of NICHHD, said: "This new vaccine may provide a powerful new way to prevent the thousands of serious S. aureus infections that occur each year."
The results of the study were published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday.
It is estimated that the NHS spends in the region of £1bn each year dealing with the after effects of hospital infections.
In many cases they can prolong hospital stays - and in 5,000 were thought to contribute directly to the death of the patient.
As the bacteria become resistant to more and more types of antibiotic, doctors are looking for new ways to tackle the problem.
Robert Naso, from Nabi, the biopharmaceutical company working on the product, said: "For the first time, an experimental vaccine has been shown to reduce the incidence of bloodstream infections caused by this bacteria.
"Kidney disease patients on dialysis are among the least likely to respond to a vaccine because their immune systems are generally compromised.
"Based upon previous clinical studies in normal, healthy volunteers, we believe that other patient populations at risk for Staph infections will respond to the vaccine with even higher levels of antibodies than was achievable in kidney disease patients."