Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
17%
3 of 18 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
The Guardian's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Health
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Australian scientists have identified two contributors to recurrent bacterial vaginosis infections, a common sexual health condition that affects about one in four women globally.
asserted
that → identify → women
The condition, commonly called BV, is characterised by an imbalance of naturally occurring bacteria in the vagina, in which there is a reduction of “good” bacteria and an overgrowth of other mixed bacteria.
asserted
condition → call → bacteria
In March last year, researchers published a landmark study which found that BV can be sexually transmitted to women by male partners.
asserted
BV → publish → partners
Concurrently treating women with the condition and their male sexual partners with antibiotics reduced BV recurrence rates by more than 60%, they found.
asserted
they → treat → %
In new research, the same group of scientists set out to understand why about 20% of women treated concurrently with their partners were not cured of BV.
asserted
% → set → BV
The study, published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Women’s Health, involved 188 couples: the women were given a weeklong course of oral antibiotics, while the men were treated with both oral and topical antimicrobials.
asserted
men → publish → antimicrobials
It identified two distinct pathways to recurring BV: persistence of the condition despite a weeklong course of antibiotics, and re-infection.
asserted
It → identify → antibiotics
Study lead author Dr Lenka Vodstrcil, a senior research fellow at Monash University and Bayside Health’s Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, said: “For about two-thirds of women, the day after they finish treatment, they return to … an optimal vaginal microbiome”, which is characterised by an abundance of healthy Lactobacilli bacteria.
asserted
which → say → bacteria
The other third of women had microbiomes suggesting “they may not have cleared their BV” before couples resumed sex after treatment, and were nearly three times more likely to get the condition again within four weeks.
uncertain
couples → have → weeks
A better understanding of “persistence of infection … helps us develop new strategies to cure more women from BV,” Vodstrcil said.
asserted
Vodstrcil → help → BV
BV can be asymptomatic or can cause vaginal itching, burning and discomfort.
asserted
BV → cause → itching
Treatment is essential as the condition can increase susceptibility to other infections and is linked to complications in pregnancy and childbirth.
asserted
condition → increase → pregnancy
The study – which the researchers believe is the largest to date involving heterosexual couples receiving concurrent BV treatment – found that persistence and reinfection from partners were “distinct, but not mutually exclusive, pathways”.
asserted
persistence → believe → partners
Of the female participants, 30% used an intrauterine device, which the study found “could enhance the persistence of bacterial vaginosis following treatment in some women” but noted that further research was needed.
uncertain
research → use → women
The scientists now plan to trial longer treatment lengths and combinations of multiple antibiotics.
asserted
scientists → plan → antibiotics
“Our aim is to stop women from having two, three, four courses of antibiotics throughout the year, which was happening previously,” Vodstrcil said.
asserted
Vodstrcil → stop → year
Study senior author Prof Catriona Bradshaw, head of research translation and mentorship at Monash University and the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, said: “Using partner-treatment to mitigate re-infection 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.
asserted
that → say → cure
Though the ethnicities of participants were “representative of urban Australia”, the study noted that its results “might not be generalisable to other global populations, including those in low-income and middle-income countries and in other settings with a high burden of bacterial vaginosis”.
uncertain
results → note → vaginosis
The Aporia
