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Inflammation in the female genital tract, which is associated with excess risk for HIV acquisition, can be modulated by cervicovaginal (CV) bacterial composition. In a prospective study of 236 healthy young HIV-uninfected South African women, researchers used bacterial 16S ribosomal (r)RNA sequencing to characterize the CV microbiota, allowing comparisons between women who became HIV infected and those who did not.
Four distinct CV bacterial community types were identified, the most prevalent of which was characterized by high bacterial diversity with low Lactobacillus concentrations. Only 10% of participants had low-diversity CV microbiota dominated by Lactobacillus crispatus. Overall, 31 women acquired HIV infection during the observation …