Dr Mojirayo Ajayi, a Consultant Family Physician at De-Cross Maternity Hospital, Jericho Ibadan, says half of women affected with vaginal yeast infection are unaware of the disease.

Ajayi made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Saturday.

“There is a specie of yeast known as Candida that can be present in the vagina without causing any symptoms.

“In fact, it is estimated that 20 per cent to 50 per cent of women have candida already present in their vagina,’’ she said.

According to Ajayi, for an infection to occur, the normal balance of yeast and bacteria is disturbed, allowing overgrowth of the yeast.

“While yeast can be spread by sexual contact, vaginal yeast infection is not considered to be sexually transmitted disease because it can also occur in women who are not sexually active.

“This is due to the fact that yeast can be present in the vagina of healthy women as well,’’ said the expert.

Ajayi defined a vaginal yeast infection as an infection caused by yeast (a type of fungus) in the vaginal, adding that it is sometimes referred to as ‘candida vaginitis’.

She said that vagina yeast infections are very common in women, affecting up to 75 per cent of women at some point in life.

According to her, signs and symptoms of vaginal yeast included vagina discharged (which is typically thick), odourless and whitish-grey in colour.

She listed other symptoms to include an intense itching of the vaginal or genital area, irritation and burning, painful sexual intercourse, pain or burning during urination and redness, or soreness of the vagina.

Ajayi also explained that vagina yeast infections could occur when new yeast is introduced into the vaginal area, or when there is an increase in the quantity of yeast already present in the vagina, relative to the quantity of normal bacteria.