Coinfection of Bacterial Vaginosis and Candidiasis in Expectant Mothers with Vaginal Discharge attending Primary Health Center at Edo Central Senatorial District, Nigeria

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a condition caused by an overgrowth of normal vaginal flora in women of childbearing age. In pregnant women Infections occurring during pregnancy may be bacterial, viral, parasitic or fungal in origin, and could affect any part of the female genital tract. Some of these infections can be attributed to organisms which are present as normal flora in apparently health subjects, and this is the case of both vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) and BV in pregnancy, both of which frequently manifest with vaginal discharge. This study is carried out to investigate the prevalence of co-infection of bacterial vaginosis and candidiasis among pregnant women attending the Antenatal Clinic of Primary Healthcare Centre, Esan West, Edo State, Nigeria. A sample size of 220 subjects comprising of 151 pregnant women and 69 non-pregnant women were selected for this study. Subject's data were obtained verbally directly from the patient after consent for sample collection w given. The data collected included those on maternal age, gestational age, marital status and occupation. The sample was collected by means of a sterile swab stick by the attending physician. The swab sticks were properly labelled with identification number with which they will be processed, and sent immediate to the laboratory for analysis. From this study, pregnant women had a significantly (p-value ≤ 0.05) higher prevalence of bacterial vaginosis (BV) (31.3%), compared to their non-pregnant counterparts (0%). The overall prevalence of BV among reproductive-aged women (pregnant and non-pregnant) was 21.36%. Although not significant (p-value 0.05), the prevalence of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) was higher among pregnant women (38.41%compared to non-pregnant women (26.09%). The overall prevalence of VVC in the study population was 34.55%. The prevalence of BV and BV/VVC co-infection was significantly (p-value≤0.05) higher among pregnant women (13.91%) when compared to their non-pregnant counterparts (0%). The overall prevalence of co-infection among reproductive aged women was 9.55%.In conclusion, bacterial vaginosis (BV) and vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) and their co-infection are notable conditions in pregnant women with the potential of negatively affecting both maternal, foetal, and neonatal health. The overall prevalence of BV, VVC, and BV//VVC co-infection in this study was 21.36, 34.55 and 9.55% respectively.