Reply to "Accuracy of Self-Report of Sexual Activity among Adolescent Girls: Implications for Interpretation of Vaginal Flora Patterns".

Abstract

We appreciate the interest of Muzny and Schwebke in our paper entitled “Vaginal microbiota of adolescent girls prior to the onset of menarche resemble those of reproductive-age women” (1, 2), in which we report the longitudinal changes in vaginal and vulvar microbial communities of adolescents that occur prior to and immediately following menarche. Muzny and Schwebke focus their comments on the occurrence of Gardnerella vaginalis in the vaginal and vulvar communities of some perimenarcheal adolescents. …