PURPOSE to correlate the presence of yeast from the Candida genus in the oral and vaginal cavity of women with and without vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC), with secretor IgA levels (IgAs) present in the saliva. METHODS among the 51 women included, 13 presented VVC and 38 were the Control Group. An amount of 2.0 mL of saliva without stimulation was collected from each patient, plus vaginal secr...

BACKGROUND Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a common condition, although its aetiology remains unexplained. The aim of this study was to analyse the composition of vaginal microbiota in women from Greenland to provide a quantitative description and improve the understanding of BV. METHODS Self-collected vaginal smears and swabs were obtained from 177 women. The vaginal smears were graded for BV ac...

BACKGROUND The increases in STI rates since the late 1990s in Canada have occurred despite widespread primary care and targeted public health programs and in the setting of universal health care. More innovative interventions are required that would eliminate barriers to STI testing such as internet-based or mail-in home and community service testing for patients that are hard to reach, who ref...

Enzootic ovine abortion is caused by Chlamydia abortus and may result in abortion among small ruminants during the last 2-3 weeks of pregnancy. Enzootic abortion is diagnosed by isolation of the agent or detection of its nucleic acid in the products of abortion or vaginal excretions of freshly aborted females. Isolation of chlamydial agents in cell culture is the gold standard, so in the presen...

BACKGROUND Streptococcus agalactiae (group B streptococcus; GBS) is a significant cause of perinatal and neonatal infections worldwide. To detect GBS colonization in pregnant women, the CDC recommends isolation of the bacterium from vaginal and anorectal swab samples by growth in a selective enrichment medium, such as Lim broth (Todd-Hewitt broth supplemented with selective antibiotics), follow...