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Review
. 2017 Sep 27:6:1761.
doi: 10.12688/f1000research.11417.1. eCollection 2017.

Bacterial vaginosis

Phillip Hay  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Bacterial vaginosis

Phillip Hay. F1000Res. .

Abstract

Bacterial vaginosis is the most prevalent cause of abnormal vaginal discharge in women of childbearing age. It can have a major impact on quality of life and psychological wellbeing if frequently recurrent and strongly symptomatic. The use of molecular techniques to study the vaginal microbiome is increasing our understanding of the dynamic changes in flora that occur in health and disease. It might soon be possible to separate Gardnerella into different pathogenic and non-pathogenic species. Many groups are studying compounds that can disrupt the biofilm which is dominated by Gardnerella and Atopobium vaginae. Several studies in the last decade support the concept of bacterial vaginosis as a sexually transmitted infection.

Keywords: bacterial vaginosis; biofilms; gardnerella; sexually transmitted infections.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: The author has received payment and support from Bayer Consumer Healthcare and Starpharma to attend conferences. His unit has received payment from Starpharma for clinical trials.No competing interests were disclosed.No competing interests were disclosed.

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