Bacteroides fragillis in vagina

Volume 3, Number 2, May , pages A pregnant woman presented with no signs of infection and gave birth by emergency caesarean section at 27 weeks. Placental histopathology demonstrated moderate histological chorioamnionitis. The case illustrates the importance of testing with non-culture methods for emerging genital infections in pregnancy. Preterm birth PTB is the second largest direct cause of child deaths in children younger than 5 years [ 2 ], a major cause of perinatal mortality and serious neonatal morbidity, and moderate to severe childhood and life-long disability in developed and underdeveloped countries [ 3 , 4 ]. Ascending infections from the lower female genital tract into the intra-amniotic cavity are the cause of important morbidities worldwide [ 5 ].

Bacteroides fragilis is an anaerobic bacterial species that is involved in gynecological infections and pathology. The incidence of vaginal carriage is largely unknown, and in order to study this, pregnant women attending a general hospital for delivery were examined. Cultures were positive for eight of these women 6. Interestingly, potential clonal relatedness could be demonstrated among several of the nonenterotoxigenic B. Among the strains, only one produced metalloprotease enterotoxin.

The bacteriology of acute salpingitis was studied in 87 patients. Gonococci were recovered from 18 patients. Lower yields of bacteria were isolated in the peritoneal fluid than from the vaginal cultures, and a poor correlation was observed between the peritoneal fluid and vaginal cultures. Anaerobic bacteria dominated in both sites.

Bryan Larsen, Gilles R. The microbiological flora of the lower female genital tract provides a dynamic, complex example of microbial colonization, the regulation of which is not fully understood. When an exogenous bacterial species, with its array of virulence factors, is introduced into the host, disease does not always occur. Conversely, under selected conditions, commensal endogenous bacteria—for example, Gardnerella vaginalis and group B streptococci—can participate in disease processes. Disease caused by both exogenous and endogenous bacteria correlates positively with a markedly increased level of bacterial replication.