A groundbreaking study has confirmed that bacterial vaginosis (BV), a condition affecting nearly one in three women worldwide, is actually a sexually transmitted infection (STI). Researchers from Monash University and Alfred Health at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre published their findings today, offering a potential breakthrough in reducing BV’s high recurrence rates.
The conventional approach to treating BV as an imbalance in the vaginal microbiome has major drawbacks. According to study authors, more than half of women experience a recurrence within three months of completing the standard week-long oral antibiotic treatment. However, a new clinical trial involving 164 monogamous couples found that treating both sexual partners at the same time led to significantly higher cure rates compared to the conventional approach.
The results were so compelling that the trial was stopped early when data showed that partner treatment reduced BV recurrence by half. The study’s lead author, Professor Catriona Bradshaw, praised the simple and short treatment as “relatively cheap and has the potential for the first time to not only improve BV cure for women, but opens up exciting new opportunities for BV prevention.”
Having BV was already known to increase the risk of contracting other STIs. The study’s findings also support previous research that men may harbor bacterial species associated with bacterial vaginosis on the penile skin and inside the penis.
The trial’s design limitations were identified as a major factor in earlier studies’ inability to confirm sexual transmission. However, advances in genomic sequencing have helped identify the cause of BV, which is now believed to be an STI.
As a result of the study’s findings, the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre has changed its clinical practice to treat couples. A new website for health professionals and consumers provides accurate information on prescribing and accessing partner treatment.
This breakthrough discovery could transform the way BV is treated, offering a new hope for women affected by this condition.
Source: https://scitechdaily.com/bv-is-an-std-and-weve-been-treating-it-wrong-for-years