Haemophilus vaginalis vaginitis

Eleven hundred eighty-one patients have been screened clinically for infections of the vagina and 370 were subjected to 1,033 detailed clinical observations and bacteriological studies. One hundred thirty-eight cases with primary diagnoses of bacterial vaginitis were detected, of which 127 (92.0 per cent) were attributed to a single etiological agent. This bacterium, heretofore unclassified, has been described and assigned the name Haemophilus vaginalis. Proof of pathogenicity of the organism has been presented. The clinical manifestations of the newly defined vaginitis have been described and criteria for clinical, microscopic, and bacteriological diagnoses given. Special attention has been directed to the diagnostic character of certain epithelial cells designated “clue cells”. The results of treatment by several methods are discussed and the necessity of simultaneous treatment of husbands stressed.