Etiology of bacterial vaginosis and polymicrobial biofilm formation

Abstract

Microorganisms in nature rarely exist in a planktonic form, but in the form of biofilms. Biofilms have been identified as the cause of many chronic and persistent infections and have been implicated in the etiology of bacterial vaginosis (BV). Bacterial vaginosis is the most common form of vaginal infection in women of reproductive age. Similar to other biofilm infections, BV biofilms protect the BV-related bacteria against antibiotics and cause recurrent BV. In this review, an overview of BV-related bacteria, conceptual models and the stages involved in the polymicrobial BV biofilm formation will be discussed.

Keywords:

• Biofilm
• BVAB
• BV
• Gardnerella vaginalis
• pathogenesis

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no potential conflict of financial interest. The opinions expressed in this review are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the MRC of South Africa.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the South African Medical Research Council (MRC).