ABSTRACT
Objective: To describe the alterations of the composition of
vaginal microbiota in pregnant women with COVID-19.
Design: Prospective observational single-centre study
Setting: Tertiary referral hospital
Participants: Pregnant women with COVID-19
Methods: The vaginal swabs were collected during the active
phase of infection and consecutively, within a month after recovering
from infection. In three patients, longitudinal samples before, in the
course, and after infection were also obtained. The microbiome
alterations were examined by 16S rRNA gene sequencing.
Main outcome measures: Vaginal microbiota profiles in pregnant
women with COVID-19
Results: Nineteen pregnant women with COVID-19 and 28 healthy
controls who were matched according to the maternal age and gestational
week were recruited. Shannon index and inverse Simpson index for
cross-sectional cohort indicate that alpha diversity is significantly
higher in women with COVID-19 (P=0.007 and P=0.006, respectively). There
was a significantly decrease in Firmicutes (P=0.007) and Lactobacillus
(P=0.019) with an increase in Bacteroidetes (P=0.024) in women with
COVID-19 when compared to those of healthy controls. The higher amounts
of Ureaplasma were found in women with the moderate/severe disease,
compared to those of the asymptomatic/mild disease (P=0.001).
Lactobacillus gasseri disappeared in women with the moderate/severe
disease. Prevotella timonensis was identified only in the COVID-19
group. In longitudinal analysis, Actinobacteria was elevated, Firmicutes
and Bacteroides depleted during the active phase.
Conclusion: The study revealed that vaginal dysbiosis with a
low abundance of Lactobacillus and an increase in Bacteroidetes is
associated with COVID-19.
Funding source: This study was funded by The Scientific and
Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK, Project no:119S463).
Keywords: Vaginal microbiome, vaginal microbiota, COVID-19,
pregnancy