Early Detection of Vaginal Infection Using Low-cost Strip

Women’s body become most vulnerable during their pregnancy period. Mothers go through a lot of physical changes. Nowadays most women are aware of maternal healthcare but still there are many health problems that,  if ignored, can become very serious in the future. One of them is vaginal infection during pregnancy.

Approximately 20-25% of pregnant women suffer from vaginal infection and the rate is higher in rural areas. Overgrowth of Bacteria Vaginosis, Candida fungus and Group B Streps Bacteria are responsible for the infection most of the time. Initially, the infection may not seem harmful but in the long run it can cause infertility and damage the fallopian tube. If this infection is not diagnosed and treated before childbirth, the infection may even get contaminated to the child and cause infection to the child's body. Often the case becomes much more severe when the bacteria from vagina travels to the uterus causing uterus infection. Uterus infection can damage the placenta, harm the developing baby, cause premature labor and even lead to birth abnormalities. 

Though vaginal infection can become severe, if treated earlier it cannot do much harm to pregnant women. The easiest way to detect the presence of harmful bacteria is to test the natural vaginal discharge during pregnancy. If the bacteria are overgrown in vaginal area then vaginal discharge will contain more than the usual amount of bacteria and the hormonal balance in the discharge will be imbalanced. 

So, our aim is to develop a low-cost chemical strip which can be used by pregnant women at home to detect the presence of harmful bacteria regularly. The color of a marked line on the strip will change if vaginal discharge contains more than the usual amount of bacteria and the hormonal balance is disturbed. Thus, they will be able to check for a potential threat of bacterial infection on a regular basis and be safe from aforementioned consequences of vaginal infection.