Master’s Thesis at the University of Babylon on Women with Vaginitis
The College of Medicine at the University of Babylon – Department of Microbiology – discussed the master’s thesis of student Abeer Imad Talib, titled:
“Molecular Study of Sequence Typing (ST) and Serogroup O Classification of Escherichia coli Isolates from Women with Vaginitis”,
under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Mohammed Sabri Abdul-Razzaq and Prof. Dr. Malal Abdul-Ridha Mohammed.
During her thesis defense, the researcher explained that the study was conducted on 150 high-density vaginal swabs taken from female patients suffering from vaginitis and endometritis, who attended the obstetrics and gynecology outpatient clinics at the Maternity and Children’s Hospital in Al-Hilla, between October 2024 and February 2025. The patients’ medical histories were obtained directly from the women, who were aged under 20 to 40 years, all of whom were married, and many had one or more children.
The study results showed that the majority of women with vaginitis were in the age group 31–40 years (60%), followed by those under 20 years (28%), and then those aged 21–30 years (12%). The proportion of patients living in rural areas was higher (56%) compared to those living in urban areas (44%). Abortion history was present in 46% of the women, while 54% had no history of abortion.
All high vaginal swabs (HVS) were cultured using traditional methods, and results showed that only 53 swabs yielded positive growth for Escherichia coli, while the remaining swabs showed no bacterial growth.
Molecular identification of these isolates was also performed using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) with specific 16S rRNA primers designed for identifying Escherichia coli. It was found that out of the 53 E. coli isolates, 50 were closely related to E. coli, while three were related to other Enterobacteriaceae species.
The study also tested the antibiotic susceptibility of the isolates using beta-lactam antibiotics. Results showed that the bacteria were:
• 100% sensitive to ceftazidime
• 68% sensitive to cefotaxime
• 64% sensitive to cefuroxime
• 56% sensitive to ceftriaxone
• 54% sensitive to cefpodoxime
Sequence typing (ST) was performed for 50 isolates using molecular markers associated with ST131, ST69, ST72, and ST95, which are commonly distributed among E. coli strains isolated from women with urinary tract infections and vaginitis.
Findings revealed:
• 40 isolates belonged to ST131
• 41 isolates to ST69
• 19 isolates to ST72
• 11 isolates to ST95
The results indicated overlap between ST groups due to sequence similarity among isolates and the presence of these sequences in extrachromosomal elements such as plasmids or transposons.
The bacterial isolates were also serotyped for O-antigen groups using specific PCR primers for serogroups O1, O2, O4, O6, and O7.
Results showed that:
• All isolates tested negative for O1, O4, and O7
• 26 isolates (52%) tested positive for O2
• 42 isolates (84%) tested positive for O6
The absence of O1, O4, and O7 serogroups was significant due to their known presence in intentionally
introduced laboratory strains
https://medicine.uobabylon.edu.iq/action_news.aspx...