Summary.  The available evidence suggests that a microbial ecosystem in prepubertal girls with clinical features of vulvovaginitis is complex regarding bacterial species and their mutual numerical ratio.
The aim of the study was to identify and compare a number of positive and negative bacteriological findings in girls with and without vulvovaginitis, in accordance with the criteria defined. Also, the study aims at analyzing the positive bacteriological findings regarding occurrence and frequency of some bacteria.
A microbiological study of the vulvar swab specimen in 160 pre-pubertal girls with vulvovaginitis and 30 asymptomatic girls, aged 2–12 years, was conducted in the period from January to September 2005 at the Department of Microbiology and Parasitology of the Public Health Institute in Nis. Sexually transmitted pathogens were excluded from the study.
In the target group, bacterial pathogens were isolated in vulvar swab specimens of 78 girls (48.75%). The most frequently isolated bacteria were fecal in origin: Enterococcus faecalis (17.50%), Proteus mirabilis (11.25%) and Escherichia coli (10.63%). Statistically significant differences between the target and control group regarding the number of positive findings (χ² = 10.57, p < 0.01) and the number of isolates which were fecal in origin (χ² = 10.67, p < 0.01) were high. Staphylococcus aureus was identified in 13 cases, Streptococcus pyogenes (group A), Streptococcus agalactiae (group B) and Gardnerella vaginalis were isolated in four patients, respectively and Haemophilus sp. only in one girl with vulvovaginitis.
In accordance with the obtained results, it can be concluded that vulvovaginitis in this age group is obviously not caused by specific pathogenic bacteria, and is usually associated with mixed growth of fecal organisms.
Key words: Vulvovaginitis, pre-pubertal girls, vaginal flora