Background: Vaginitis, an infection of the lower genital tract in women, is known to be triggered by the overgrowth of the vagina’s naturally occurring microorganisms.
Objective: This study looked at the prevalence of
Candida spp. and age-related disparities amongst women presenting with vaginitis at the Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O&G) clinic in a tertiary hospital in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Methods: One hundred high vaginal swabs were collected from pregnant and non-pregnant women and examined microscopically and microbiologically.
Results: Age-group 20–29 years had the highest incidence of candidal vaginitis. There was a higher occurrence of yeast cells in pregnant than in non-pregnant participants while the non-pregnant women had a greater level of bacterial cells. Forty (40) of the samples contained yeasts of
Candida species representing a 40% prevalence. Three species of
Candida were identified with
C. albicans
dominating. Of the 40 samples positive for
Candida spp., 30 (75.0%) were confirmed to be
C. albicans. The remaining isolates were
C.
tropicalis
(15.0%) and
C.
parapsilosis
(10.0%).
Conclusion: The findings in this study would play a role in the future management of
Candida-induced vaginitis.
