Session: P090 Sexually transmitted infections

Category: 2d. Abdominal/gastrointestinal, urinary tract & genital infections

25 April 2017, 12:30 - 13:30 P1871

Vaginal microbiota and

Ayse Ruveyda Ugur1, Duygu Findik2, Ugur Arslan3, Emine Inci Tuncer*2

1Necmettin Erbakan University Faculty of Medicine; Medical Microbiology

2Selcuk University Faculty of Medicine; Medical Microbiology

3Selcuk University

Background: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is characterized by a transition in vaginal microflora from Lactobacilli to anaerobic and associated with serious health issues such as pelvic inflammatory disease, pregnancy-associated complications, and susceptibility to sexually transmitted diseases. The aim of this study is to investigate the occurence of the BV-associated bacteria in vaginal specimens and the potential association between the microorganisms by using species specific PCR.

Material/methods: 103 vaginal swap specimens sent to the Microbiology Laboratory between 2012- 2015 in Konya/Turkey were selected according to the Nugent score (BV, 35; normal vaginal flora, 68). The samples were stored at -80oC after releasing cells into sterile tubes containing 3 mL of nutrient broth by thorough vortexing. DNA was extracted using QIAamp mini kit (Qiagen Inc., Germany) with sligth modifications. spp. Lactobacillus jensenii Lactobacillus gasseri, , Gardnerella vaginalis, Atopobium vaginae, Peptoniphilus spp., BVAB2, BVAB3, BVAB-TM7, Megasphaera type II, Megasphaera type II, Prevotella spp., Prevotella lacrimalis, Mobiluncus mullieris, Mobiluncus curtusii, Eggerthella-like bacterium, and Leptotrichia/Sneathia were investigated by species-specific PCR assay.

Results: In this study, the most common species in BV samples were Lactobacillus spp. (100%), G. vaginalis (100%), Peptoniphilus spp. (97.1%), L. iners (94.3%), A. vaginae (97.1%), and Prevotella spp. (85.7%). In specimens with healthy microflora, the most common species were as follows: Lactobacillus spp. (100%), L. iners (88.2%), Peptoniphilus spp. (86.8%), G. vaginalis (85.3%), L. crispatus (55.9%), and L. gasseri (51.5%). BVAB2, Leptotrichia/Sneathia, and Eggerthella-like bacterium, that are highly specific to BV, were not detected in specimens with normal flora. Conclusions: We found a significant association between G. vaginalis and A. vaginae that are strongly related to BV (p<0.001). Moreover, there were a strong association between A. vaginae and Prevotella spp. (p<0.001), and a negative association between L. gasseri and Eggerthella-like bacterium (p=0.004). Presence of less than three Lactobacilli species in vaginal environment was associated with four-fold increase in the likelihood of BV. According to our best knowledge, our study is the first comprehensive study describing vaginal microflora of healthy women and women with BV in Turkey. On the other hand, further studies are needed to explore the etiopathogenesis of BV.