Bacterial vaginosis, vaginal flora patterns and vaginal hygiene practices in patients presenting with vaginal discharge syndrome in The Gambia, West Africa

Table 4 Prevalence of HIV and BV in symptomatic women, by douching, menstrual hygiene protection method and female genital cutting

	Prevalence of BV (Nugent's score 7–10)			Prevalence of HIV
	n/N	%	P-value ⁴	n/N	%	P-value ⁴
Douching ¹
No	12/22	54.5	0.507	3/22	13.6	1.000
Yes	94/202	46.5		24/185	13.0
Menstrual hygiene protection method
Traditional²	70/138	50.7	0.323	17/129	13.2	1.000
Sanitary pads	34/79	43.0		9/71	12.7
Female genital cutting ³
No	38/68	55.9	0.146	12/63	19.1	0.115
Yes	70/157	44.6		15/145	10.3
BV
No				12/110	10.9	0.414
Yes				15/100	15.0

¹ Douching before and/or after sexual intercourse.
² Old cloths washed and re-used as necessary.
³ Also known as "female circumcision"; in the Gambia, the type of female cutting belongs to WHO classification Type II, i.e. removal of all/part of the clitoris and labia minora.
⁴ P-values from Fisher's Exact Test.

ISSN: 1471-2334