Abstract
We investigated the vaginal microbiota (VMB) composition, prevalence of genital pathogens and their association among pregnant and post-delivery women in Pemba Island, Tanzania. Vaginal swabs were collected from 90 women, at two time points during pregnancy (<20 weeks of gestational age [GA] and ≥20 weeks GA) and once after delivery, when possible. IS-pro assay was used for VMB characterization. Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Neisseria gonorrhea (NG), Trichomonas vaginalis (TV), Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) and human papillomavirus (HPV) were detected by qPCRs. VMB were mostly Lactobacillus dominant during pregnancy and non-Lactobacillus dominant post-delivery. A significant decrease in VMB richness was observed during pregnancy among paired and unpaired samples. Shannon diversity was significantly lower during pregnancy than post-delivery among unpaired samples. Klebsiella species and Streptococcus anginosus were the most commonly identified pathobionts at all timepoints. A high abundance of pathobionts was mostly seen in women with non-Lactobacillus dominant VMB. At ≥20 weeks GA timepoint during pregnancy, 63.0% of the women carrying one or more genital pathogen (either HPV, CT, TV, or MG) had L. iners dominant VMB. NG was not detected pre-delivery. This study contributes evidence on VMB composition, its changes during pregnancy and post-delivery, and their association with pathobionts and genital pathogens.
Highlights
The vaginal microbiota (VMB) consists of commensal microorganisms that exist in a mutually beneficial relationship with the host environment [1,2]
gestational age (GA) pregnancy collection in yellow, post
Communities were mostly Lactobacillus-dominated with most VMB profiles belonging to Community State Types (CST) I, II, III, and V (65% of the vaginal samples at the
Summary
The vaginal microbiota (VMB) consists of commensal microorganisms that exist in a mutually beneficial relationship with the host environment [1,2]. The human VMB are mostly dominated by protective lactic acid-producing Lactobacillus species in the majority of Caucasian women. These bacteria create an acidic environment with anti-microbial properties which hinders the growth and colonization of pathogenic microbial species [3–5]. Common Lactobacillus species in the vagina include Lactobacillus (L.) iners, L. crispatus, L. gasseri, or L. jensenii [2,6]. Showed that next to the common Lactobacillus. Microorganisms 2022, 10, 509 species, L. vaginalis plays a vital role in the VMB in African women [7].
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