Skip to main content
Journal of Clinical Pathology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Pathology
. 1981 Jan;34(1):82–83. doi: 10.1136/jcp.34.1.82

Microbial flora of the lower genital tract of women in labour in Zaria, Nigeria.

C C Ekwempu, R V Lawande, L J Egler
PMCID: PMC1146417  PMID: 7007447

Abstract

Nine genera of microbes isolated from the lower genital tract of 187 women in labour in Zaria have been identified. The work was undertaken to establish the nature of microorganisms in the lower genital tract of women in labour as a basis for further study. The isolates in order of prevalence were: Candida albicans (20.9%), Klebsiella sp (15.0%), Escherichia coli (9.1%), Streptococcus faecalis (6.4%), haemolytic streptococci (other than Streptococcus pyogenes (2.7%), Streptococcus viridans (2.1%), Staphylococcus aureus (2.1%), Aeromonas hydrophila (2.1%), Proteus mirabilis (1.1%), Peptostreptococcus putridus (1.1%), Streptococcus pyogenes (0.5%), and Streptococcus pneumoniae (0.5%). Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Haemophilus sp, Lactobacillus sp, and Clostridium sp were sought but not found. Chlamydia, viruses, and T-strains of mycoplasma and trichomonas were not sought. It appears from this study that the lower genital tract of most women in Zaria at the time of labour is heavily colonised by pathogens. For this reason alone prolonged labour and trauma to the genital tract at the time of delivery should be avoided.

Full text

PDF
82

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Craft I., Ghandi F., Hardy R. Letter: Bacteroides in gynaecological infection. Lancet. 1974 Apr;1(7859):677–677. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(74)93226-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Goplerud C. P., Ohm M. J., Galask R. P. Aerobic and anaerobic flora of the cervix during pregnancy and the puerperium. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1976 Dec 1;126(7):858–868. doi: 10.1016/0002-9378(76)90674-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. KARNAKY K. J. Electronic studies in obstetrics and gynecology. Obstet Gynecol. 1955 Jan;5(1):93–101. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Neary M. P., Allen J., Okubadejo O. A., Payne D. J. Preoperative vaginal bacteria and postoperative infections in gynaecological patients. Lancet. 1973 Dec 8;2(7841):1291–1294. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(73)92870-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Stanley V. C., Hurley R., Carroll C. J. Distribution and significance of candida precipitins in sera from pregnant women. J Med Microbiol. 1972 Aug;5(3):313–320. doi: 10.1099/00222615-5-3-313. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Thadepalli H., Gorbach S. L., Keith L. Anaerobic infections of the female genital tract: bacteriologic and therapeutic aspects. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1973 Dec 15;117(8):1034–1040. doi: 10.1016/0002-9378(73)90750-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. de Louvois J., Hurley R., Stanley V. C. Microbial flora of the lower genital tract during pregnancy: relationship to morbidity. J Clin Pathol. 1975 Sep;28(9):731–735. doi: 10.1136/jcp.28.9.731. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Pathology are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES