Bacterial vaginosis is estimated to affect 21.2 million women ages 14-49 in the United States. Women with BV can be successfully treated with antibiotics, but the condition frequently recurs in women following treatment. Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have launched a study to see if treating the male partners of women with recurrent BV will reduce the rate of infection, as the disease may be sexually transmitted to and from their male counterparts.
“BV is the most common type of vaginal infection, causes distressing symptoms of vaginal discharge and odor,” said Jane Schwebke, M.D., professor of medicine in UAB’s School of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases. “Recurrence rates after treatment of women are quite high and lead to frustration among women and their sexual partners. It is possible that men harbor the germs that cause BV and pass them back to their female partner. We are testing whether or not treatment of the male partner is helpful in breaking this cycle of infection.”
Over the next two years, the study is recruiting women with recurrent BV and their regular male sexual partner to be observed for a 16-week period. Participants must be at least 18 years old, and the woman must have BV at the time of enrollment.
Female participants are treated with the standard therapy of metronidazole for seven days, and the men are randomized to either receive metronidazole or placebo. Genital exams are performed, and urine samples are collected. Participants follow up at the clinic in 21 days, and if the woman’s infection resolves, she has two more visits at eight and 16 weeks. Participants receive $50 at each visit.
For more information or to enroll, contact the UAB Personal Health Clinic at 205-996-2780.
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