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Thanks to the use of more sensitive techniques (compared to the very first Isala phase), we now also find this bacterium in vaginal samples. At the start of our vitamin study, this bacterium was present in the vaginas of 44 of our VIAB2L participants.
What does this bacterium look like?
This is a cocobacillus. The shape is something between a sphere and a rod. They occur alone or in pairs or hang together in short strands. This bacterium is approximately 0.5 to 1 micrometre in size. That is small if you know that 1000 micrometres fit in one millimetre.
Until 2016, this bacterium was called Atopobium vaginae. The current name honors Fanny Hesse, a French microbiologist who came up with the idea of adding agar to culture media to grow bacteria. Although this important contribution was not initially given sufficient recognition in the scientific world, we would like to emphasize that thanks to her we can use a solid growth medium to successfully isolate bacteria from vaginal swabs in our Isala lab.
What does science already know about this bacterium?
This bacterium does not tolerate oxygen well and is therefore difficult to cultivate in the lab. That is why science does not yet know this bacterium very well and a lot of research is still needed.
This bacterium has an average genome of 1.5 million base pairs with approximately 1,200 genes. This means that this bacterium can produce about 1,200 different substances, such as lactic acid.
What is this bacterium doing in my vagina?
We would like to tell you honestly that the dominance of this bacterium is not the best news for your vaginal health. When it gains the upper hand in the vagina, together with other less beneficial bacteria such as Gardnerella vaginalis, this can cause symptoms such as an unpleasant odor or a change in vaginal discharge.
But don’t panic if your vagina is dominated by this bacterium. Very often, we find this bacterium together with various types of lactobacilli. Those lactobacilli can help keep Fannyhessea vaginae in check. We would also like to point out that the vaginal microbiome is somewhat dynamic. It could well be that the dominance of Fannyhessea vaginae has already disappeared.
The most important advice we can give you is to contact your doctor if you experience complaints or worry about your vaginal health. Within Isala, we even have a separate webpage with more background information, especially for doctors, so you can certainly refer to that.
Does this bacterium occur elsewhere?
Fannyhessea vaginae is most commonly found in the vagina, but this bacterium can sometimes also be found in urine or blood samples in the context of infections.