Findings indicate that there are more Kenyan women with vaginal bacterial infections. FOTOSEARCH
Women with a history of vaginal bacterial infections have a
higher chance of contracting and transmitting HIV, a study has shown.
The findings also indicate that there are more and more Kenyan women with these types of ailments.
Medically
known as bacterial vaginosis, it is a common sexually transmitted
disease that occurs when different types of bacteria outnumber the
normal and useful (lactobacillus) bacteria in the vagina.
Experts say it affects particularly those who are sexually active and causes painful inflammation of the birth canal.
The
study found a link between bacterial vaginosis and HIV/Aids and HIV
infections as both are transmitted mainly through unprotected sex.
Dr
Elizabeth Irungu of the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and
Technology’s HIV Department said that the disease causes swelling,
itching, burning or infection in the vagina which can be caused by
several different germs.
Study
The
study on the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis among women seeking
contraception in Kenya, revealed that the disease was high among young
women in Sub-Saharan Africa, a region that, incidentally also, bears the
highest incidence of new HIV infections.
Scientists
wanted to determine the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis among women
and how it correlates to desiring contraception.
The
study enrolled 363 women, of whom 247 were aged 30 years, and 195 had
more than eight years of education. More than three-quarters of them
(280) reported having an income.
Of the 247, some 69 per cent, reported having a main sex partner, while 132 (53 per cent) were living with their partners.
A
total of 20 per cent of the women reported condom use every time they
had sex. Daily vaginal washing and use of vaginal lubricants were
reported by 215 (60 per cent) and 32 (nine per cent), respectively.
Forty-two per cent of the women reported an abnormal vaginal discharge. The bacterial vaginosis was found in 116 of the women.
“Living with a main sexual partner reduced the likelihood of having bacterial vaginosis,” said Dr Irungu.
She
added that having an abnormal vaginal discharge, lesions in the genital
area or having a yeast infection were also associated with having
bacterial vaginosis.
“Vaginal washing and condom use were not significantly associated with bacterial vaginosis,” she said.
Dr
Paul Mitei, a gynaecologist/obstetrician, said that the disease is
spreading because of changing of sexual partners and vaginal douching.
“Douching
flushes out the normal bacteria from the vagina yet they are there to
fight vaginal infections, so it (douching) is not safe for women,” said
Dr Mitei.
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