NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women can acquire bacteria linked to a dangerous vaginal infection via oral sex or petting, even if they have not had full sexual intercourse, researchers from Australia report.

Among 44 women who were virgins, 20 carried Gardnerella vaginalis in their vaginas, while 3 tested positive for Atopobium vaginae, Dr. Sepehr N. Tabrizi of The Royal Women's Hospital in Victoria and colleagues found.

Both types of bacteria can cause bacterial vaginosis (BV), in which the normal oxygen-requiring healthy bacteria of the vagina are replaced by non-oxygen-requiring, or anaerobic, bugs, Tabrizi's team notes in the medical journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

BV has been linked to miscarriage and a greater susceptibility to sexually transmitted infections such as HIV, but 50 percent of the time, women with BV have no symptoms.

To investigate how common BV-linked bacterial infections might be in women who had not yet had sex, the researchers had 44 women collect vaginal specimens and then tested them for the bacteria. The women also completed questionnaires on their sexual practices.

Those who reported having had oral sex were 22 times more likely to carry G. vaginalis, while hand-genital contact also increased the likelihood of testing positive for the bacterium, the researchers report.

Given that the study was small, it must be confirmed by other investigations, the researchers note. Nevertheless, they add, "Our results suggest that transmission of these organisms may occur before the onset of penetrative vaginal sex.