Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a common vaginal condition among women which often comes back even after antibiotic treatment. We believe that reinfection from sexual partners may be contributing to the high rates of women getting BV again.
What is StepUp?
StepUp is a research study in Victoria and New South Wales aiming to determine the effectiveness of treating the male partners of women with BV to prevent women getting their BV back again.
StepUp is being conducted by researchers from Victoria and New South Wales and has been approved by the Alfred Hospital Ethics Committee. You will be reimbursed for the time you spend participating in this study.
If you have BV and have a regular male partner, we would love to hear from you!
We are excited to announce that the results of the StepUp randomised controlled trial are now available.
Research summary: nejmoa2405404_research-summary.pdf
Animation: nejm.org/do/10.1056/NEJMdo007887/full/
Video: Partner treatment for BV - YouTube
We are deeply appreciative of all research participants and healthcare providers who have been involved.
Publications
Male-partner treatment to prevent recurrence of bacterial vaginosis
Lenka A. Vodstrcil, Erica L. Plummer, Christopher K. Fairley, Jane S. Hocking, Matthew G. Law, Kathy Petoumenos, Deborah Bateson, Gerald L. Murray, Basil Donovan, Eric P. F. Chow, Marcus Y. Chen, John Kaldor, Catriona S. Bradshaw
(2025), The New England Journal of Medicine,