Antimicrobial Resistance Profiling Following Bacterial Vaginosis Treatment in Africa: Implications for Live Biotherapeutic Product Efficacy

Jo-Ann Passmore of the University of Cape Town in South Africa and Elizabeth Bukusi of KEMRI in Kenya will determine the effects of the antibiotic metronidazole on bacterial vaginosis (BV)-associated microbes to guide the development of a live biotherapeutic product (LBP). BV is treated with antibiotics like metronidazole (MTZ), but recurrence is high, and an LBP could sustainably interrupt BV. They will compare temporal changes in abundance of BV-associated bacteria in women from Kenya and South Africa receiving MTZ treatment, and they will evaluate the impact of MTZ treatment on cervicovaginal inflammatory profiles. They will also compare antibiotic resistance prevalence and profiles for BV-associated bacterial strains isolated from these women, before and after MTZ treatment. The results will guide the interpretation of ongoing and future LBP efficacy studies, as well as generating a panel of BV-associated bacterial strains that can be screened to help select new candidate LBP strains.