Critical Study on Prevalence of Bacterial Vaginosis among Antenatal Patients at Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki, South East Nigeria

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common cause of vaginal discharge in women of child bearing
age. About half of these women are asymptomatic. Adverse outcomes are consistently associated
with bacterial vaginosis in pregnancy and in the puerperium. This study, which was done to look at the
prevalence, involved recruiting 230 participants, and screening them for BV using the Amsel’s criteria.
It is hoped that identification and treatment of these women will help prevent some of the sequela
associated with BV. Restoration of the vaginal microflora by treating identified cases of BV will also
help reduce the transmission of HIV and herpes simplex virus (HSV) as BV propagates their
replication and vaginal shedding. Two hundred and thirty women in the age range 16 - 40 years were
screened for BV. All the participants douched, soap and water being predominantly used. 55 women
(23.9%) had BV based on Amsel’s criteria. Women with only one sexual consort had the highest
incidence of BV (51.9%). Raising the awareness of bacterial vaginosis among our pregnant women
and their health care providers will be an important first step in preventing BV and promoting its
diagnosis and treatment. It will also be an important first step in preventing the sequela of BV in
pregnancy and in the puerperium.