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The purpose of this project is to understand how common BV is in young women in Australia and how it is related to sexual activity and other factors such as contraceptives.
In BV a woman’s usual healthy vaginal bacteria (in particular lactobacillus bacteria) are replaced by an overgrowth of mixed bacteria. BV is common, and studies have shown it affects 10-30% of women in countries such as the United Kingdom and United States, but we do not know how common it is in Australian women.
BV may cause symptoms of an abnormal vaginal discharge or odour (smell). However, more than half the women with BV do not have any symptoms so are often unaware of the infection. In most women BV has no complications, but it can cause miscarriage, premature birth and pelvic infections, and can increase a woman’s risk of getting sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Current recommended treatment for BV is with oral or vaginal antibiotics. Studies have shown that while these treatments cure 70-80% of women within a month, up to half experience recurrence of BV within 6 months of treatment. Importantly, we don’t know why this happens. Some previous studies suggest BV may be related to sexual activity or even be sexually transmitted, however this remains unproven. Our research aims to understand how BV is related to sexual activity in order to develop more effective treatment and to prevent the complications associated with BV for women.
We will be asking 500 first year female students aged 17-21 years of age to participate in this study at Melbourne University.
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