Abstract

BACTERIOLOGICAL STUDY OF VAGINAL FLORA IN MOTHERS AT TERM

Nikhil Payal*, Nitin Goel Insan, Chitra Pai, Harpriya kar, Sujeet Shah, B. L Chaudhary, Nidhi Nair

Abstract

The female genital tract is a complex ecosystem containing an abundance of microorganisms. The composition of the vaginal flora is not constant, suffering variations in response to exogenous and endogenous factors. The vaginal microflora appears to be so critical to health and disease. In cases of recurrent UTI the dominant organisms are the uropathogens, generally Escherichia coli; in recurrent bacterial vaginosis, these are anaerobic Gram negative rods, generally Gardnerella vaginalis. Lactobacillus acidophilus was the dominant member of a healthy vaginal microflora. Samples were collected by a trained faculty of Dept. of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. Sample processing and Identification of bacteria were done by standard procedures. Most commonly isolated aerobic bacteria was CoNS (43.4%) and anaerobic bacteria was Bacteroides fragilis (26%). Most common pathogenic bacterial isolate was Staphylococcus aureus (42%).

Keywords: Vaginal microflora, Bacteroides fragilis, CoNS, Anaerobic Culture.