Gardnerella vaginalis

[Zzmed]

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1) Is Gardnerella vaginalis infection (bacterial vaginosis) an STD or just a bacterial infection?
2) Is it part of normal vaginal flora?

I ask those things guys because there is no consensus neither over the internet nor books.

 

[withrye]

As far as I know, it is part of normal flora. However, more sex more problems (more partners correlates with more events of bacterial vaginosis).

 

[Phloston]

1) Is Gardnerella vaginalis infection (bacterial vaginosis) an STD or just a bacterial infection?

Bacterial vaginosis is not considered an STD because it's not something that's contracted; it merely is the result of floral imbalance secondary to one or more of a variety of factors. Trichomonas, in contrast, is considered an STD.

2) Is it part of normal vaginal flora?

Yeah, but it's largely just transient. Its presence vaginally is analogous to that of Propionibacterium acnes on the skin: it's almost always present in some number, but only under particular conditions is proliferation increased.

Lactobacillus is most common in reproductive-age women, but Staph, and even some Strep species, can exceed Lactobacillus in pre-pubescent and post-menopausal women (I had encountered this in a practice question a long time ago).

 

[normtheniner]

1) Is Gardnerella vaginalis infection (bacterial vaginosis) an STD or just a bacterial infection?
2) Is it part of normal vaginal flora?

I ask those things guys because there is no consensus neither over the internet nor books.

It increases susceptibility to STD but is part of the normal vaginal flora. Also bacterial vaginosis is often seen overgrowth of G. vaginalis in combination with Mobiluncus...

Posting this before the knowledge falls out of my brain since we took the micro shelf today haha