Molecular Identification of Sudanese Females’ Vaginal Microbiota and Microbiota associated with Bacterial Vaginosis, Khartoum, Sudan, 2018

Abstract

Background: The microbiota of healthy women changes from birth to menopause. During their reproductive years, females’ normal flora is dominated by Lactobacillus species. Females who are identified with vaginal infections are characterized by lacking Lactobacillus species and the vagina would be dominated by facultative and strictly anaerobic bacteria. Recently, a new detailed description of the vaginal microbiome has been attained using quantitative, real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) targeting key bacterial genomes. In this study, we have used 16S Ribonucleic acid (RNA) sequencing to identify the Sudanese flora and flora associated with bacterial vaginosis within females in their reproductive age.

Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional and molecular laboratory-based study; carried out in one reproductive health Centre and two health care facilities in Khartoum State, Sudan. Hundred vaginal swab samples were collected from the participants who visited the Centres. Out of the 100 serial vaginal swabs, 11 samples were randomly selected.  The DNA was then extracted from the swab samples and 16S RNA sequencing was performed. The samples were classified into four groups.

Results: Lactobacillus species was found to be the most dominant organism in all four groups except for the group with bacterial vaginosis (BV) which was found to be dominated by the genus Gardnrella and Lactobacillus inners. Factors such as usage of contraceptives and some Sudanese traditions like circumcision and skin smoking (Dukhan) have significant effect on the flora (p-value 0.045and 0.03 respectively)

Conclusions: Sudanese female flora is dominated mainly by Lactobacillus species among normal and asymptomatic females, while Gardnrellla sp. was dominant among females with BV. This is consistent with the global picture despite the differences in customs and traditions of Sudanese women, which was expected to affect the types of vaginal bacteria. Further studies and metagenomic sequencing are needed for better identification.