Vaginal colonization with Gardnerella vaginalis and anaerobic curved rods

Ninety-four women colonized with anaerobic curved rods (CR) and/or Gardnerella vaginalis, were studied. Of these women, 34 were culture-positive for the long variant of CR. Eight of these latter women also harboured the short variant of these bacteria. In women colonized with CR, none had a predominance of lactobacilli in their vaginal flora, which was the case in 26 of the 60 women not harbouring CR. G. vaginalis was isolated from all 94 women. Mycoplasma hominis occurred significantly more often in women colonized with CR and G. vaginalis as compared with women not harbouring CR, but who were colonized with G. vaginalis (p less than 0.0005). The recovery rate of chlamydiae and gonococci was remarkably low, i.e. the organisms were isolated from one case each. Women colonized with CR complained of foul-smelling vaginal discharge significantly more often than women not found to harbour such organisms (p less than 0.001). In all women with CR, the number of leukocytes per high-power field of vaginal secretion exceeded that of 'clue cells'. Such cells were found in all patients with CR, but not in women with a lactobacilli-dominated flora, despite the fact that they all harboured G. vaginalis. Bacterial vaginosis might be due to a symbiotic infection with G. vaginalis and CR, possibly in conjunction with other anaerobes and/or M. hominis.