So, Men Have Been Giving Us Bacterial Vaginosis All Along?

If you've ever been diagnosed with bacterial vaginosis (BV), you'll know how frustrating it is to deal with the itching and burning sensations down there. As it turns out, this common condition that affects nearly 1 in 3 women may actually be a sexually transmitted infection (STI), according to a new study in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Bacterial vaginosis — a bacterial infection caused by an overgrowth of harmful bacteria that disrupts the pH balance of the vagina — has all the hallmarks of an STI, according to study author Lenka Vodstrcil, a senior research fellow at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre at Monash University in Australia.

"We collected a body of evidence to show that having sex is strongly associated with catching bacterial vaginosis and it coming back after treatment and that bacterial vaginosis bacteria are present in men — in the urethra and on the penile skin," Vodstrcil tells PS. "Women in same-sex relationships can also share this bacteria." In other words: Getting, and treating, BV isn't the responsibility of one person — which can be a major de-stigmatizer for those who get the infection.

Experts in This Article

Lenka Vodstrcil is a senior research fellow at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre at Monash University in Australia.

Sherry Ross, MD, is an ob-gyn, co-founder of Oneself, and author of "She-ology" and "She-ology: The She-quel."

So Exactly What Did the Study Find?

The 12-week study recruited 164 couples where a woman had bacterial vaginosis and was in a monogamous relationship with a male partner. About half the couples were assigned the partner-treatment group and others the control group. In the partner-treatment group, both partners received antibiotic treatment (for the man, this included oral medication and a topical cream for penile skin). In the control group, the woman received an antibiotic and the male partner received no treatment.

The results: When BV was treated as an STI, with both partners receiving a course of antibiotics (instead of just the person showing symptoms), the rate of recurrence dropped by over 50 percent, according to Vodstrcil's research.

"We have used a novel combination antibiotic treatment strategy in men — a cream to target the BV bacteria on the penile skin and oral tablets to get rid of the BV bacteria in the urethra," Vodstrcil says. "We have shown for the first time that treating a male partner at the same time a woman receives treatment greatly improves BV cure and reduces recurrence. So this is now the first strong evidence that BV, specifically the BV bacteria, are being sexually transmitted."

While the study was limited to opposite-sex couples, Vodstrcil says there's evidence to show that women also share vaginal bacteria (both good and bad) during sex. "We believe that partner treatment makes sense for [women in same-sex couples], too, but there just hasn't been evidence to support this yet. We're currently running a study to inform this practice," she says.

How Will This Change the Way BV Is Treated?

It's too soon to say what this means for the future. The study was quite small and included only 164 Australian couples, but it was stopped early, after 150 couples had completed treatment and a follow-up, because of "the big difference between partner treatment and no-partner treatment," Vodstrcil says.

Still, researchers see the potential. "This is the first major advance in a BV cure, and it opens up exciting opportunities for prevention strategies, including tests for BV in men, which would be a first," Vodstrcil says.

Dr. Ross, for one, isn't surprised by the results. "For chronic sufferers of BV, treating the male partner makes complete sense, and some healthcare providers have already been doing so for years," she says. "Recurrent vaginal infections are not only frustrating for the patient, but also frustrating for the healthcare provider. Medical studies often lag behind sensible medical care when it comes to recurrent and disruptive genital infections like BV."

This research offers hope. Unlike we've been told over the years, BV isn't a simple one-sided infection, and it's time we stop viewing it that way. While more research is needed to prove the study's findings are applicable to the masses, Vodstrcil and her research team have developed a resource for the general public, doctors, and other health professionals to help them navigate a new game plan for women with BV and their partners.

At the very least, having access to more information is key to taking control of your health. Here's to combatting the BV stigma.

Danielle Zickl is a freelance writer who has 10 years of experience covering fitness, health, and nutrition. You can find her work here on PS, and in many other publications including Self, Well+Good, Runner's World, Outside Run, Peloton, Women's Health, and Men's Fitness.