vaginal microbiome affects HIV risk

vaginal microbiome affects HIV risk -

You are currently viewing the summary.

See the full text

Username Enter your username Sciencemag.org .

Password Enter the password that accompanies your username.

you have forgotten your username or password?

---

• Join / Subscribe
• Buy article
• member account Enable
• Renew subscription
• Recommend a subscription to your library
• Help for librarians

Summary

South African girls and young women have surprisingly high rates of HIV infection, and researchers for years have suspected that there may be biological factors that make them particularly vulnerable to infection. New research presented at the International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, the hardest hit in the country suggest a possible culprit region Prevotella bivia , bacteria found in the vagina that causes inflammation. Careful examination of the vaginal microbiome found a second bacterium, Gardnerella , may help explain why a microbicide gel containing the anti-HIV drug tenofovir does not protect many uninfected women who used in a clinical trial. In test tube experiments, Garnderella "engulfed" Tenofovir, which rapidly reduces levels of the drug.

• ↵ * in Durban, South Africa

Tweet