Australian scientists identified two distinct ways recurring bacterial vaginosis (BV) can persist: one involves the bacteria remaining despite antibiotic use, and the other involves re-infection. Globally, BV affects approximately one in four women.
Treating both the woman and her male sexual partner with antibiotics concurrently reduced the rate of BV recurrence by over 60%. The study examined a cohort comprising 188 couples.
Despite concurrent treatment, about 20% of the women did not achieve a cure for BV. Dr Lenka Vodstrcil stated that for roughly two-thirds of women, the vaginal microbiome returns to an optimal state the day after treatment concludes.
Conversely, the remaining third of women showed microbiomes suggesting BV may not have cleared before couples resumed sexual activity post-treatment, making them nearly three times more likely to relapse within four weeks. Furthermore, the research found that 30% of female participants who used an intrauterine device experienced enhanced persistence of bacterial vaginosis following treatment in some cases.
Vodstrcil noted that the goal is to prevent women from needing multiple courses of antibiotics throughout the year, which was the previous pattern. Prof Catriona Bradshaw suggested that using partner-treatment to lessen re-infection, alongside more intensive strategies targeting BV-bacteria persistence, could help create better, personalised treatment methods achieving higher cure rates.
