While hepcidin and lipocalin 2 have been shown to be produced during the pathogenesis of upper UTIs 15, 16, UPEC have been shown to exploit host iron during bladder infection (cystitis) through elaborating lipocalin‐2‐resistant siderophores such as salmochelin 5, 15, 17 and accessing iron within bladder epithelial cells 18, 19. This evidence concerns the gene HAMP and cystitis.