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- Assessment of characteristics of Pediococcus pentosaceus SB83 to be used in the prevention of neonatal listeriosisPublication . Borges, S.; Barbosa, J.; Silva, J.; Teixeira, P.The normal vaginal microbiota is dominated by lactobacilli, at 107 to 108 CFU/mL of vaginal fluid in healthy premenopausal women (Bolton et al. 2008). Lactobacilli contribute to the prevention of genital infections and play a role in the maintenance of a healthy state. The capacity that lactobacilli have to adhere and compete for adhesion sites in the vaginal epithelium and the capacity to produce antimicrobial compounds (hydrogen peroxide , lactic acid , bacteriocin-like substances and biosurfactants) are important in the impairment of colonization by pathogens. Furthermore, the production of lactic acid may help to maintain a low vaginal pH, approximately 4-4.5, that makes the vaginal environment more conducive to lactobacilli growth (Bolton et al. 2008). There is often a loss of colonization by lactobacilli caused by antibiotic therapy, douching, sexual activity, hormone deficiency, and contraceptive measures. The selection and use of “vaginal probiotics” can be important to restore a healthy vaginal microbiota (Pascual et al. 2008). Probiotic have been defined as “live microorganisms, which when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host”. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) may play a major role in preventing illness of the host, including bacterial vaginosis, yeast vaginitis, urinary tract infection and sexually transmitted diseases. The administration of probiotics by mouth and intravaginally has been shown to be safe, and for pregnant women this restoration could be important to lower the risk of preterm labor (Reid and Bocking 2003). Listeria monocytogenes is a bacterium that, during pregnancy, can cause many serious complications including preterm labor, chorioamnionitis, spontaneous abortion, stillbirth and neonatal infection. Vaginal colonization by pathogens can result in transmission to the fetus/neonate by vertical transmission. Therefore, the vaginal application of LAB could be a preventive strategy to reduce the global burden of neonatal infections. The aim of this study was to select, identify and characterize an isolate of LAB to be considered as vaginal probiotic candidate.