A research group from the University of Cape Town (UCT) is developing a user-friendly technology to rapidly detect bacterial vaginosis (BV) and associated genital tract inflammation – even in asymptomatic cases – providing fast results, and which can even be used at home.
This follows groundbreaking biomedical studies by Professor Jo-Ann Passmore, an expert medical scientist on sexual reproductive health, linking genital inflammation to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and BV – critical risk factors for HIV transmission and pregnancy complications among adolescent girls.
News24 reports that Passmore’s research group studies genital tract inflammatory biomarkers and mucosal surface immunity associated with protection from or susceptibility to STIs, including HPV and HIV, and has been involved in several randomised controlled trials and cross-over studies of the effects of hormonal contraceptives on HIV risk in young women.
Limited healthcare services and the high cost of STI-specific tests have led to a reliance on diagnosing STIs and BV based on clinical signs and symptoms.
“Women and adolescent girls with STIs or BV often show no symptoms, so cases can be missed and consequently left untreated,” the team found.
“Additionally, expensive medication, the stigma associated with STIs/BV, and the inconvenience of lengthy clinic visits, will deter many people from seeking medical assistance, resulting in low levels of diagnosis and treatment.”
Adolescent girls and young women between 15 and 24 have a higher risk of HIV infection than their male counterparts, according to a UNAIDS report last year, which said that this sector – in sub-Saharan Africa – was three times more likely to acquire HIV than teenage boys and young men of the same group.
To combat high HIV rates and improve pregnancy outcomes in the region, there was a need for an integrated approach to diagnose and treated these underlying issues, Passmore said, and to help overcome the challenges of diagnosing women with asymptomatic STIs and BV.
To this end, she and her team at UCT are developing a genital inflammation rapid test device that uses vaginal samples to screen for genital inflammation.
“This improves early detection and intervention for women with asymptomatic STIs and BV, reducing the risk of HIV infection,” she said.
Using similar technology to an off-the-shelf pregnancy test, it’s a non-invasive, affordable and user-friendly test that can easily be done at the point of primary care or at home.
The ground research would contribute to developing live probiotics to treat BV and associated genital tract inflammation, Passmore added.
“By understanding geographic variations in vaginal microbiomes that underlie BV on the continent, the Vaginal Microbiome Research Consortium for Africa can develop targeted interventions that can be tailor-made for and available to all women and adolescent girls.”
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Microbiome therapy reduces recurrent bacterial vaginosis in trial
Young rural SA women more vulnerable to STIs than young men
Meta-analysis of STI prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa