New antibiotic combinations aim to achieve a lasting cure for persistent bacterial vaginosis
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Researchers and clinicians from Monash University and Bayside Health's Melbourne Sexual Health Centre are testing new combinations of antibiotics to treat persistent bacterial vaginosis (BV), following their discovery that the condition is sexually transmissible.
Bacterial vaginosis is the most common vaginal condition among women of reproductive age. It is caused by a loss of healthy vaginal bacteria and an overgrowth of other bacteria that upsets the natural balance of the vaginal microbiome.
Researchers from Monash University and Bayside Health's Melbourne Sexual Health Centre published a study in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2025, showing that treating male partners reduces BV recurrence in women by more than 60%.
The discovery reshaped international thinking on the condition and won this year's Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre Eureka Prize for Infectious Diseases Research.
Their latest study, published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Women's Health, builds on the original finding to reveal why some women continue to experience a repeat diagnosis of BV even when their male partners are treated concurrently, identifying two distinct pathways to repeat infection: reinfection and persistence of BV bacteria.
Lead author Dr. Lenka Vodstrcil, a senior research fellow at Monash University and Bayside Health's Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, said this has enabled them to work on tailoring treatments that will improve cure rates for millions of women worldwide.
"While partner treatment improves cure for most women in a monogamous relationship, there are some women who have persistent BV bacteria that survive initial therapy before couples resume sex after treatment," Vodstrcil said.
"By identifying this early, we can intervene with more intensive female-focused treatments before the infection takes hold again."
Senior author Vice-Chancellor's Distinguished Professor Catriona Bradshaw, a clinician scientist and head of research translation and mentorship at Monash University and Bayside Health's Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, said the new approaches to treatment being tested by her team include longer courses of antibiotics and new antibiotic combinations designed to eradicate persistent BV-causing bacteria.
"Using partner treatment to mitigate reinfection and more intensive strategies that target persistence of BV bacteria, we hope to create more effective treatment approaches that can be tailored to an individual and achieve higher levels of cure for all women," Bradshaw said.
Publication details
Determinants of repeat bacterial vaginosis in concurrently treated couples: a post-hoc pooled cohort study, The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women's Health (2026). DOI: 10.1016/S3050-5038(26)00259-1
Journal information: New England Journal of Medicine
Clinical categories
Obstetrics & gynecologyInfectious diseasesWomen's healthReproductive healthCommon illnesses & Prevention Provided by Monash University Who's behind this story?
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