Age and sex trends of Gardnerella vaginalis infection in patients with sexually transmitted infections in Korea

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Gardnerella vaginalis and Candida albicans are the most common causative agents of bacterial vaginosis, and infections with these pathogens lead to inflammation, endometritis, and pruritus. The aim of this retrospective study was to determine the trends of G. vaginalis infections based on real-time PCR data according to age and sex in patients with sexually transmitted diseases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 59,381 specimens isolated at a clinical laboratory from September 2018 to December 2020 were subjected to real-time PCR for the detection of G. vaginalis DNA. Sample types included catheter, pus, tissue, swab, and urine samples. RESULTS: Among 59,381 samples, 20,718 (34.8%) were positive for G. vaginalis. Of the positive samples, 13,186 (63.7%) were from male patients and 7,532 (36.3%) were from female patients. Average patient age was 39.1 years (the average age of male and female patients was 38.34 and 40.43 years, respectively). Female patients younger than 19 years exhibited the highest incidence of G. vaginalis, at 71.57%, followed by 68.46% incidence in those aged 20–29 years; the lowest incidence was in women aged 40–49 years. Further, among specimen types, the highest number of G. vaginalis-positive specimens was obtained by the swab sampling method. CONCLUSION: From 2018 to 2020 in Korea, the number of tests conducted for bacterial vaginosis has increased, while the incidence of G. vaginalis infections appears to have decreased. the finding that female adolescents have a high tendency to carry the pathogen is important. and for effective surveillance of BV, sampling by cotton swabs and detection by multiplex PCR might be a good approach.