Exploration and assessment of probiotic treatment of vaginal candidiasis.

Up to 75% of females worldwide encounter at least one episode of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) in their lifetime and 5%-10% of them suffers from recurrent infections (RVVC). Globally, RVVC is estimated to target 150 million women a year by 2030, leading to universal healthcare related and economic losses. Current treatment of (R)VVC is insufficient and resistance occurs frequently. Therefore, the development of additional, effective therapy strategies has become urgent. In this project, we will investigate the treatment of (R)VVC with probiotics based on S. cerevisiae alone and in combination with Lactobacillus spp., in in vitro and in vivo setups. Additionally, we will generate an overview of the vaginal mycobiome of the Belgian population. This overview will allow us to compare the healthy and (R)VVC-linked microbiome, generating insight into the relationships between microorganisms present in this niche. This could highlight microorganisms that could have probiotic capacities against Candida species.