News Health & Medicine

Add penis bacteria to the list of HIV risk factors

Microbes that thrive in oxygen-poor places may lure virus’s prey: vulnerable immune cells

Prevotella

BAD BACTERIA  Bacteria such as Prevotella (shown) are anaerobes — they can survive without oxygen. An increase in anaerobic bacteria on the penis raises the risk of HIV infection, a new study suggests.

Dennis Kunkel Microscopy/Science Source

By Laurel Hamers

- More than 2 years ago

Out-of-whack microbes in the vagina can raise HIV risk — and now there’s evidence that the makeup of the penis microbiome matters, too.