title: Quantitative studies on the vaginal flora of asymptomatic women and patients with vaginitis and vaginosis.
abstract: Vaginal washings of 22 patients with vaginitis, 11 with vaginosis, and 12 healthy subjects were investigated quantitatively and qualitatively for aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and yeasts. Gardnerella vaginalis was recovered from 9 of the vaginitis patients, 7 of the vaginosis patients, and 4 of the asymptomatic subjects. Obligate anaerobes were found in 11 of the vaginitis patients, 4 of the vaginosis patients, and none of the control subjects. Bacteroides bivius was the anaerobe most frequently isolated from symptomatic subjects. Anaerobic vibrios were recovered twice from symptomatic subjects. The counts for Gardnerella vaginalis and anaerobes when present were generally very high. The most frequent aerobes were beta-hemolytic streptococci (group B) and staphylococci.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Bonn, Federal Republic of Germany.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hammann
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kronibus
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Werner
mesh_terms: D001420:Bacteria, Aerobic / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001421:Bacteria, Anaerobic / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D005260:Female; D006194:Gardnerella vaginalis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006192:Haemophilus Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D007973:Leukorrhea / Q000382:microbiology; D014621:Vagina / Q000382:microbiology; D014627:Vaginitis / Q000382:microbiology*