Enterococcus faecalis as a Risk Factor in Aerobic Vaginitis among Pregnant Women

Aerobic vaginitis (AV) manifests as an imbalance in vaginal flora, characterized by aberrant amounts of aerobic and intestinal pathogens, resulting in different degrees of vaginal infection. In this study, 120 vaginal swab samples were collected from diagnosed female patients, confirmed using clinical signs and history. The swabs were inoculated on blood and Chrome agar, The diagnosis depended on classical methods, and further confirmed by the Vitek-2 technique. The incidence of Enterococcus faecalis isolates was 18.33%. The research delved into antibiotic resistance, specifically vancomycin, levofloxacin, erythromycin, tetracycline, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin, and bacitracin, determined by Kirby-Bauer method using Mueller Hinton Agar. Results revealed high resistance to tetracycline and erythromycin (93%), contrasting with lower ratios for bacitracin (27%) and levofloxacin. gentamicin resistance was observed in 87%, while minimal resistance to vancomycin and ciprofloxacin (10%) was noted.The study established a correlation between E. faecalis and AV in pregnant women, identifying it as a sole cause in adverse pregnancy outcomes. For precise diagnosis, 16S rRNA sequencing was employed, and the identified isolate, E. faecalis, was deposited in the Gene Bank database with specific accession number. Sequence similarity searches and phylogenetic analysis indicated 100% compatibility with various isolates globally, including those from Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand, South Africa, Russia, Egyptian, India, China, Thailand.