Infectious Vaginitis

Recent studies of the vaginal flora using molecular techniques have identified several novel bacterial species that are more prevalent in women with BV compared to women without BV. The first of these species to be identified was Atopobium vaginae, which was initially described after isolation from the vagina of a healthy woman (11). Subsequent studies using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)-based detection showed that A. vaginae was more prevalent in women with BV than in healthy women, and that the sensitivity and specificity of A. vaginae detection in diagnosing BV was comparable to that of G. vaginalis detection (12-15). More recently, other fastidious vaginal microorganisms (FVM) including Megasphaera and Eggerthella species as well as three as of yet unclassified microorganisms termed Bacterial Vaginosis Associated Bacteria (BVAB): BVAB1, BVAB2, and BVAB3, have also been shown by molecular techniques to be prevalent in women with BV (16-17).