Bacterial vaginosis among women at high risk for HIV in East Africa: the role of behaviour, host immunity, genetics

东非艾滋病毒高危妇女的细菌性阴道病：行为、宿主免疫、遗传学的作用

• 批准号: G1002369/1
• 负责人: Suzanna Francis
• 金额: $ 56.28万
• 依托单位: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Fellowship
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2011 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=G1002369%2F1
• 关键词: Bacterial; vaginosis; among; women; risk

Around 25 million people are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in sub-Saharan Africa - roughly two-thirds of the worldwide total. The greatest burden is shouldered by 13.3 million African women, who make up 60% of the epidemic in this region. A risk factor for HIV, bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a highly prevalent, reproductive tract infection affecting women. We do not understand the causes of BV or how to control it long-term. By further investigating behaviour, genetics, and immunological responses to BV, as well as the bacteria that are associated with BV, we hope to further understand the role of these factors in BV and develop a framework that would help researchers to design interventions to respond to this infection. Though research has shown that some types of behaviour are risk factors for BV, notably intravaginal cleansing and sexual behaviour (e.g. new sex partners, frequency of sexual intercourse without condoms), it seems that behaviour does not completely explain the following questions: why some populations have consistently higher prevalence of BV than others; why some women have recurrent BV and others do not; and why some women have symptoms and others do not. We hope to find answers to these questions that will guide future research on BV with the aim of reducing reproductive health burden and HIV transmission.

撒哈拉以南非洲约有2 500万人感染了人体免疫缺陷病毒（艾滋病毒），约占全世界总数的三分之二。1 330万非洲妇女承担着最大的负担，她们占该区域艾滋病患者的60%。细菌性阴道病（BV）是艾滋病毒的一个危险因素，是一种影响妇女的高度流行的生殖道感染。我们不了解BV的原因或如何长期控制它。通过进一步研究对BV的行为、遗传学和免疫反应，以及与BV相关的细菌，我们希望进一步了解这些因素在BV中的作用，并建立一个框架，帮助研究人员设计干预措施来应对这种感染。虽然研究表明，某些类型的行为是BV的风险因素，特别是阴道内清洗和性行为（例如新的性伴侣、不使用避孕套的性交频率），似乎行为并不能完全解释以下问题：为什么有些人群的BV患病率一直高于其他人群;为什么有些妇女复发BV，而另一些妇女则没有;以及为什么有些女性有症状而有些没有。我们希望找到这些问题的答案，以指导未来对BV的研究，从而减少生殖健康负担和HIV传播。