Association of bacterial vaginosis with the most common sexually transmitted infections

Abstract

Introduction/Objective. Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common vaginal dysbiosis that enlarge a possibility of getting sexually transmitted infections (STI). The aims of this research is to examine association between BV and the nine most common causes of STIs (Chlamydia trachomatis, Mycoplasma genitalium, Mycoplasma hominis, Ureaplasma spp, Trichomonas vaginalis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, high-risk Human papilloma viruses and Herpes simplex virus type 1 and 2) and to determine if the presence of BV increase the probability of coinfection with any of the STIs microorganisms. Methods. This study involved 235 patients of reproductive age. One sample swab was collected each for vaginal and cervical testing. The vaginal swabs were used for detection of BV by RT-PCR test. The cervical swabs were used for the detection of the most common STIs which were tested by four different multiplex RT-PCR tests. Pearson?s ?2 test and Fisher?s probability test were used for statistical analysis of the results. Results. Comparison of the total number of STIs and the condition of the vaginal flora has shown that STIs are the most common in patients with BV 80 (89.9%). Women with BV have a higher frequency of infections with Ureaplasma spp. and M. Hominis, 71 (78.9%) and 50 (44.4%), respectively. The presence of detected STI pathogens and relation with the state of vaginal flora indicate that mono infections are present most often in patients with normal flora 51 (42.1%), while coinfections are mostly present in BV patients 50 (55.6%). Conclusion. This study has confirmed the association of M. hominis and Ureaplasma spp with BV as well as an association of coinfections with this dysbiosis. Better understanding of the association between various STIs and the status of vaginal flora is necessary to enable better diagnosis, prevention of diseases and women?s health protection.