5 Ugandan Students Created an App to Help Rural Women with Vaginosis

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In rural Uganda, a trip to see a doctor can cost almost as much as an entire month’s salary. Easily treatable women’s health problems such as vaginosis are often neglected, leading to more serious health issues. That’s why a group of five Ugandan female college students who call themselves the Code Gurus have created a machine and corresponding app called Her Health BVKit that allows women to take control of their health. The easy-to-use machine-and-app system detects vaginosis and alerts women when they should seek medical attention. 

While around 30 percent of U.S. women between the ages of 14 and 49 have bacterial vaginosis at a given time, in some parts of Uganda, the incidence is believed to be as high as 50 percent. Vaginosis is a common infection brought on by a bacterial imbalance in the vagina. Sex with a new partner and douching are the most common ways of disturbing the vagina’s natural flora and fauna, leading to the infection. Left untreated, vaginosis can leave a woman more susceptible to contract STDs when with an infected partner. It can also lead to pelvic inflammatory disease and strains of HPV which can cause cervical cancer. 

The Her Health BVKit allows women to easily identify whether they have vaginosis by taking a small sample of urine or vaginal discharge. If positive, the women are prompted to get medical attention. Although the testing machines aren’t cheap, the Code Gurus are looking to make the testing kits available via kiosks in rural Uganda where they can be purchased collectively and shared amongst groups of women. 

(H/T Takepart)

5 Ugandan Students Created an App to Help Rural Women with Vaginosis

Sexual behaviors between women affected acquisition of bacterial vaginosis

Sexual behaviors in female same-sex partnerships appear to have a strong influence on vaginal microbiota and the acquisition of bacterial vaginosis, researchers from the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre in Australia have found.

“Epidemiological studies in women who have sex with men consistently report a strong association between [bacterial vaginosis (BV)] and sexual activity,” the researchers wrote in Clinical Infectious Diseases. “Although there have been fewer epidemiological studies in women who have sex with women … BV has been associated with risk factors implicating sexual transmission between women. While these data support the concept of exchange of vaginal bacterial spp. between women, as in heterosexual couples, sexual transmission of BV has not been established.”

The researchers conducted a 24-month prospective cohort study between March 2010 and September 2013 to evaluate the incidence of and factors associated with incident BV. The study included 298 nonpregnant, pre-menopausal women with a female sex partner in the previous 18 months who were BV-negative on three weekly vaginal smears. Participants completed questionnaires and self-collected vaginal smears in 3-month intervals until incident BV or 24 months.

During 523 woman-years of follow-up, there were 51 cases of incident BV, for an incident rate of 9.75 per 100 woman-years. Women who were co-enrolled in the study with a female, BV-negative sex partner were significantly less likely to develop BV (adjusted HR=0.26; 95% CI, 0.11-0.61). In a multivariate analysis, factors associated with incident BV included a new sex partner within 90 days (aHR=2.51; 95% CI, 1.3-4.82); a female partner with BV symptoms (aHR=3.99; 95% CI, 1.39-11.45); receptive oral sex from any sex partner (aHR=3.52; 95% CI, 1.41-8.79); and abnormal vaginal discharge and/or odor (aHR=2.8; 95% CI, 1.39-5.61).

In further analysis, the researchers compared a reference group of women with a monogamous female sex partner and women who had not had sex, with: a) participants who had a sex partner with first sexual contact more than 90 days previously; and b) participants with a new sex partner within the previous 90 days. Women with a new sex partner within the previous 90 days had an eightfold greater risk for incident BV (aHR=7.59; 95% CI, 2.89-19.95), and women with a sex partner more than 90 days prior had a fourfold increased risk (aHR=3.82; 95% CI, 1.57-9.29).

“This study provides evidence for dynamic exchange of vaginal bacterial species between [female sex partners] and contributes to our understanding of how sexual behaviors and relationships influence the development of BV,” the researchers wrote. “Collectively, published epidemiological data provide broad support for male and female partner treatment trials to determine if this strategy reduces BV recurrence and associated sequelae.”

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.

Sexual behaviors between women affected acquisition of bacterial vaginosis