Temporal Variability of Human Vaginal Bacteria and Relationship with Bacterial Vaginosis

Abstract

The microbiota of the human vagina can be highly dynamic. Healthy women are colonized with Lactobacillus species, but levels can change dramatically over a month. Marked increases in G. vaginalis were observed during menses. Participants with BV have diverse communities of fastidious bacteria that are depleted by vaginal metronidazole therapy. Women with recurrent BV initially respond to antibiotic treatment with steep declines in bacterial concentrations, but these bacteria later reemerge, suggesting that antibiotic resistance in these bacteria is not an important factor mediating BV recurrence.