Treating Bacterial Vaginosis as an STI Could Improve Outcomes

Bacterial vaginosis (BV), an overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria in
the vagina, affects nearly one in three people with a vagina. While
you can get BV without ever having sex, a new study has found that,
in some cases, it could be functioning more like a sexually
transmitted infection. That’s in part because of the increased risk
of BV after sex with a new partner and a high recurrence of BV
symptoms after treatment.The study examined women with BV who were
in a monogamous relationship with a male partner and found that
treating both people was significantly more effective than treating
the woman alone. Host Rachel Feltman speaks with study co-authors
Lenka Vodstrcil, a senior research fellow at Melbourne Sexual
Health Center at Monash University in Australia, and Catriona
Bradshaw, a professor of sexual health medicine at Monash
University and Australia’s Alfred Hospital. Recommended reading:
Read the study Resources for patients and health
professionals  E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you
have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!
Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American
and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. 
Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso
Harper, Naeem Amarsy and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by
Rachel Feltman. Our show is edited by Alex Sugiura with
fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music
was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices.
Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices