Bacterial Vaginosis and Correlates in Women of Reproductive Age in Thika, Kenya.docVIP

Advances in Microbiology, 2013, 3, 249-254 /10.4236/aim.2013.33036 Published Online July 2013 (/journal/aim) Bacterial Vaginosis and Correlates in Women of Reproductive Age in Thika, Kenya J. Nzomo , P. Waiyaki , R. Waihenya 1 2 3 1 Ministry of Medical Services, Machakos, Kenya Centre for Microbiology Research and KEMRI, Nairobi, Kenya Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Juja, Kenya Email: pgwaiyaki@, wanjikukinge@ 2 3 Received March 8, 2013; revised April 9, 2013; accepted May 9, 2013 Copyright ? 2013 J. Nzomo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ABSTRACT Background: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common cause of abnormal vaginal discharge among women of childbearing age which is associated with STI/HIV and adverse birth outcomes. The Main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and correlates of BV among women of reproductive age in Thika. Methods: Between July 2010 and February 2011, 193 women of reproductive age (18 - 49 years) were enrolled from family planning and ante-natal clinics in Thika District Hospital, Kenya. The study was descriptive cross sectional in which organisms were identified from vaginal specimens using culture, biochemical testing and Nugent score method. Statistical analyses in- cluded conventional descriptive statistics and multivariable analysis using regression. Results: Of one hundred and ninety three specimens, 9.3% were Mobiluncus isolates, 23.0% Bacteriodes species and 67.7% Gardnerella vaginalis. Among the study participants, 77.7% had non-classical BV with a score of 7 - 8 while 22.3% classical BV with a score of 9 - 10 indicating complete depletion of Lactobacillus species. Whiff test wa