Rectal occurrence of Mobiluncus species.

The simultaneous occurrence of Mobiluncus spp in the vagina and rectum was studied in women attending a sexually transmitted diseases (STD) department. Of 43 women with bacterial vaginosis (BV), 32 had Mobiluncus spp in the vagina and 23 in the rectum. In 20 women the same Mobiluncus species was found concomitantly in the vagina and the rectum. Mobiluncus spp were found in the rectum only in two women with BV, one with candidal vaginitis, and one healthy woman. In a treatment study of 23 women, BV was cured in nine out of 10 treated with metronidazole and six out of 13 treated with tetracycline. After treatment Mobiluncus spp persisted in the vaginas of two out of 19 women and in the rectums of two out of 10.