Bacterial vaginosis associated with increased risk of HIV transmission from women to men, study shows

Bacterial vaginosis (BV), a condition characterized by a disruption in normal vaginal bacteria, is associated with a more than three-fold increased risk of HIV transmission from an infected woman with the condition to her uninfected male partner, according to a study published June 26 in PLoS Medicine, VOA News reports. Craig Cohen, a professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of California at San Francisco and lead author of the study, said additional research into the causes of and treatments for BV, as well as exactly how the condition increases the risk of HIV transmission, needs to be conducted, according to the news service. In some areas of Africa, up to half of the female population has BV but many are unaware of their condition, VOA reports, noting the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funded the research (De Capua, 6/29).