A Common Mystery

Saturday November 29, 2008

Bacterial Vaginosis is a strange condition. Ask any three doctors on any three days and you'll probably get nine different answers about whether or not it's an STD. Even those individuals who believe it can be sexually transmitted don't necessarily believe it always is, and don't always agree on how that transmission occurs. Is it caused by a lactobacillus eating bacteriophage? Is it triggered by some other condition that induces a bacterial overgrowth? Are the bacteria that are most often responsible for the condition directly transmitted? If so, why aren't they usually found in men? Talking about BV often means that you end up with more questions than you started out with. Still, there do seem to be some answers...