Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology
Volume 24, Issue 1 , Pages 42-47 , February 2011

Longitudinal Changes in Vaginal Microbiota Composition Assessed by Gram Stain Among Never Sexually Active Pre- and Postmenarcheal Adolescents in Rakai, Uganda

  • Marie E. Thoma, PhD, MHS

      Affiliations

    • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Rockville, Maryland, USA
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress correspondence to: Marie E. Thoma, PhD, DESPR/NICHD/NIH, 6100 Executive Blvd, Room 7B13E. Bethesda, MD 20892-7510.
  • ,
  • Ronald H. Gray, MD, MSc

      Affiliations

    • Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
  • ,
  • Noah Kiwanuka, MB ChB, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Makerere University School of Public Health and Rakai Health Sciences Program, Kampala, Uganda
  • ,
  • Simon Aluma, SLT, BBLT

      Affiliations

    • Rakai Health Sciences Program, Kalisizo, Uganda
  • ,
  • Mei-Cheng Wang, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
  • ,
  • Nelson Sewankambo, MB ChB, MMed, MSc

      Affiliations

    • Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda
  • ,
  • Maria J. Wawer, MD, MHS

      Affiliations

    • Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

References 

  1. Hillier SL. The vaginal microbial ecosystem and resistance to HIV. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses. 1998;14(Suppl 1):S17
  2. Redondo-Lopez V, Cook RL, Sobel JD. Emerging role of lactobacilli in the control and maintenance of the vaginal bacterial microflora. Rev Infect Dis. 1990;12:856
  3. Hay P. Life in the littoral zone: lactobacilli losing the plot. Sex Transm Infect. 2005;81:100
  4. Boskey ER, Cone RA, Whaley KJ, et al. Origins of vaginal acidity: high D/L lactate ratio is consistent with bacteria being the primary source. Hum Reprod. 2001;16:1809
  5. Martin HL, Richardson BA, Nyange PM, et al. Vaginal lactobacilli, microbial flora, and risk of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 and sexually transmitted disease acquisition. J Infect Dis. 1999;180:1863
  6. Taha TE, Hoover DR, Dallabetta GA, et al. Bacterial vaginosis and disturbances of vaginal flora: association with increased acquisition of HIV. AIDS. 1998;12:1699
  7. Cherpes TL, Meyn LA, Krohn MA, et al. Association between acquisition of herpes simplex virus type 2 in women and bacterial vaginosis. Clin Infect Dis. 2003;37:319
  8. Watts DH, Fazzari M, Minkoff H, et al. Effects of bacterial vaginosis and other genital infections on the natural history of human papillomavirus infection in HIV-1-infected and high-risk HIV-1-uninfected women. J Infect Dis. 2005;191:1129
  9. Myhre AK, Bevanger LS, Berntzen K, et al. Anogenital bacteriology in non-abused preschool children: a descriptive study of the aerobic genital flora and the isolation of anogenital Gardnerella vaginalis. Acta Paediatr. 2002;91:885
  10. Hammerschlag MR, Alpert S, Rosner I, et al. Microbiology of vagina in children: normal and potentially pathogenic organisms. Pediatrics. 1978;62:56
  11. Hill GB, St Claire KK, Gutman LT. Anaerobes predominate among the vaginal microflora of prepubertal girls. Clin Infect Dis. 1995;20(Suppl 2):S269
  12. Farage M, Maibach H. Lifetime changes in the vulva and vagina. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2006;273:195
  13. Brabin L, Fairbrother E, Mandal D, et al. Biological and hormonal markers of chlamydia, human papillomavirus, and bacterial vaginosis among adolescents attending genitourinary medicine clinics. Sex Transm Infect. 2005;81:128
  14. Yamamoto T, Zhou X, Williams CJ, et al. Bacterial populations in the vaginas of healthy adolescent women. J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol. 2009;22:11
  15. Parent AS, Teilmann G, Juul A, et al. The timing of normal puberty and the age limits of sexual precocity: variations around the world, secular trends, and changes after migration. Endocr Rev. 2003;24:668
  16. Bukusi EA, Cohen CR, Meier AS, et al. Bacterial vaginosis: risk factors among Kenyan women and their male partners. Sex Transm Dis. 2006;33:361
  17. Howe LD, Hargreaves JR, Huttly SR. Issues in the construction of wealth indices for the measurement of socio-economic position in low-income countries. Emerg Themes Epidemiol. 2008;5:3
  18. Nugent RP, Krohn MA, Hillier SL. Reliability of diagnosing bacterial vaginosis is improved by a standardized method of gram stain interpretation. J Clin Microbiol. 1991;29:297
  19. Diggle P, Heagarty P, Liang K, et al. Analysis of Longitudinal Data. 2nd ed.. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2002;
  20. Cleveland WS, Devlin SJ. Locally weighted regression - an approach to regression-analysis by local fitting. J Am Stat Assoc. 1988;83:596
  21. Brabin L, Roberts SA, Fairbrother E, et al. Factors affecting vaginal pH levels among female adolescents attending genitourinary medicine clinics. Sex Transm Infect. 2005;81:483
  22. Stevens-Simon C, Jamison J, McGregor JA, et al. Racial variation in vaginal pH among healthy sexually active adolescents. Sex Transm Dis. 1994;21:168
  23. Stamey TA, Timothy MM. Studies of introital colonization in women with recurrent urinary infections. III. Vaginal glycogen concentrations. J Urol. 1975;114:268

PII: S1083-3188(10)00210-X

doi: 10.1016/j.jpag.2010.07.002

Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology
Volume 24, Issue 1 , Pages 42-47 , February 2011