Assessment of safety and colonization potential of well characterized probiotic strains in South African women with healthy and disturbed vaginal microflora by molecular methods

Alterations in the vaginal microbiome contribute to risk of preterm birth and increased transmission of sexually transmitted agents and HIV-mother-to-child-transmission. Exogenous supplementation of vaginal bacteria to maintain and restore a healthy vaginal microflora could lead to important intervention strategies. In this project different molecular methods will be applied to study how probiotic bacteria can influence the vaginal ecology.