A recent study was developed to understand how HIV corresponds to the microbial communities of the female sex organ. Dr. David Fredericks- a physician and college professor that teaches “Allergy and Infectious Disease” at University of Washington, led a study on the relationship between the diversity of bacteria in the vagina and how it may lead to HIV. The research population specifically focused in on sub-Saharan African women, who make up 56% of the continent’s infected population.
Scientists have come to discover that the greater the diversity of a microbiome, the more equipped that region of the body is for combating infections. Although- this concept is strictly relative to the mouth, intestines, and nasal passageway because a variety of bacteria inhabiting a vaginal microbiome can be very detrimental to a woman’s health. One of the leading risks from having a diverse vaginal microbiome community is the “human immunodeficiency virus”. This virus can be transmitted through sexual contact, childbirth, nursing, or the usage of unsanitary needles. One’s immune system is weakened after contracting HIV because CD4 cells are damaged, which makes it harder for the body to fight off illness. Dr. Fredericks has revealed that the presence of a microbe called Parvimonas Type 1 is usually not a dangerous bacteria, yet the microbe is linked to the virus when there is a higher concentration of it in the vaginal microbiome.
Dr. Fredericks accomplished making this new find by using a strategy called the “dose-dependent effect” to measure the amount of “bugs” in a microbiome community in correlation to the risk of contracting HIV. In doing so, the scientists took cultures from 87 women who were infected with HIV and 262 cultures from women who tested negative for HIV to compare the bacterias found in both microbiomes. During the second half of the study, biologists used screening through a method called “PCR“and identified 20 types of bacteria that could potentially be linked to the virus. The bacterias involved in generating the virus in the female reproductive system were narrowed down to seven specific strains of rogue bacteria. Since the discovery, the biggest question revolving around HIV is determining how to permanently reduce the concentration of these illness-inducing bacterias.
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