The novel study shows that bacterial vagina can be sexually transmitted

Many women have no symptoms; Those who do this can experience increased discharge, fish smell and burning or itching in the vagina area. Infected patients, regardless of whether they are symptomatic, are more exposed to the development of other sexually transmitted infections, such as chlamydia or HIV, as well as pelvic inflammatory disease. BV in pregnant women is also associated with an increased risk of premature delivery.

Standard BV treatment is a weekly course of antibiotics taken orally or vaginally, said Dr. Paul Nyirjey, co -director Jefferson Vulvovaginal Health Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. But its high recurrence rate means that patients must be “treated over and over again – five, six, 10 times”, which can affect their quality of life and sex life. He said that some patients are applied to extended schemes of six or seven months to suppress bacteria, but after stopping treatment, the infection often returns.

In the study, which was conducted in many sexual health and family planning centers in Australia, scientists gave 83 monogamous couples standard treatment of a seven -day antibiotics course for a partner. Meanwhile, 81 other monogamous couples also received the treatment of a male partner, including a seven -day course of oral antibiotics and a local antibiotic that was used to be a penis. After 12 weeks, 35 percent of women in the partner treatment group again compared to 63 percent in the standard treatment group. Most men did not experience any side effects related to treatment, but some reported nausea, headaches or metallic taste.

Potential risk factors of recurrence BV include having an intrauterine device or sex with an unprocessed partner. This study showed that even among patients with these risk factors, the treatment of both partners reduced the recurrence, said Dr. Catriona Bradshaw, the main author of the study and clinicist at Melbourne Secury Health Center at the University of Monash.

For decades, reproductive health experts suspected that BV was sexually transmitted. While conducting research in Central and Eastern Africa over 20 years ago, Dr. Bradshaw stated that “the relapse was double or triple in women who had a lasting sexual partner,” she said. It was also more often in people who did not exploit condoms – both signs were he suggested that the infection was sti Several other studies published over the years have strengthened this theory, including newer findings that bacteria have strived for infected women game bacteria found on penises.