Vaginal microbiota and its impact on vaginal infections worldwide

Abstract

The composition of the vaginal microbiota changes throughout a woman's life from birth; it has been suggested that changes in the structure of the vaginal epithelium and hormonal changes play a fundamental role in this. Vaginal acidophilic lactobacilli are a heterogeneous group composed of more than twenty diverse bacterial species, of which six are important for the vaginal ecosystem: L. crispatus, L. gasseri, L. iners, L. gensenii, L. buchneri and L. vaginalis. The objective of the research was to identify the impact on vaginal infections worldwide. A descriptive narrative documentary design study was carried out, from the PubMed, SciELO, ScienceDirect databases, the MeSH terms “microbiota”, “vaginal”, “factors”, “infection”, “prevention” were used, selection criteria were applied based on relevance focused on the subject. The results show that the healthy vaginal microbiota is mainly dominated by Lactobacillus spp., which protect against infections, has different factors that alter or affect the genitourinary system, where we find external factors such as unprotected sexual activity and even multiple partners and finally the prevention strategies for vaginal infections that stand out the most are the use of probiotics. According to the results obtained from the different studies consulted, they indicate that the vaginal microbiota in different regions of the world affects 90 or 95% as the dominant bacteria, Lactobacillus spp. was identified most frequently.