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The vaginal microbiome: new information about genital tract flora using molecular based techniques
Author(s) -
Lamont RF,
Sobel JD,
Akins RA,
Hassan SS,
Chaiworapongsa T,
Kusanovic JP,
Romero R
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
bjog: an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.157
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1471-0528
pISSN - 1470-0328
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-0528.2010.02840.x
Subject(s) - bacterial vaginosis , vaginal flora , flora (microbiology) , microbiome , biology , lactobacillus , antibiotics , pregnancy , genital tract , female circumcision , vaginal infections , microbiology and biotechnology , immunology , medicine , physiology , bacteria , bioinformatics , obstetrics , genetics
Please cite this paper as: Lamont R, Sobel J, Akins R, Hassan S, Chaiworapongsa T, Kusanovic J, Romero R. The vaginal microbiome: new information about genital tract flora using molecular based techniques. BJOG 2011;118:533–549. Vaginal microbiome studies provide information that may change the way we define vaginal flora. Normal flora appears dominated by one or two species of Lactobacillus . Significant numbers of healthy women lack appreciable numbers of vaginal lactobacilli. Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is not a single entity, but instead consists of different bacterial communities or profiles of greater microbial diversity than is evident from cultivation‐dependent studies. BV should be considered a syndrome of variable composition that results in different symptoms, phenotypical outcomes, and responses to different antibiotic regimens. This information may help to elucidate the link between BV and infection‐related adverse outcomes of pregnancy.