Prevalence of Group B Streptococcus Colonization among Pregnant Women and Feto-Maternal Outcomes in a Tertiary Health Institution, North-Western Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Group B Streptococcus (GBS) infection is a major cause of bacterial infections in the peri-natal period. These include amnionitis, urinary tract infections and endometritis. At birth, 50-60% of the neonates born to colonized mothers have positive cultures taken from mucus membranes and the skin. Aim: The aim of this study is to determine prevalence of GBS colonization and compare the maternal and perinatal outcomes among GBS positive and GBS negative women within 7 days postpartum. Methodology: This was a longitudinal study among pregnant women between 35-37 weeks gestation attending antenatal clinic at Usman Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto. Vaginal and rectal swabs were taken from the participants and cultured for growth of Group B Streptococcus within 24 hours. The participants were followed up to 7 days post-delivery with their newborns to determine the maternal and early neonatal outcomes. Results: One hundred and eighty five (185) women were recruited and 159 (85.9%) participants were available for follow-up to determining feto-maternal outcomes. Among the participants, 3.8% (7) had GBS vaginal colonization. There was no single case of early neonatal infection, intensive neonatal resuscitation nor neonatal mortality among both GBS positive and GBS negative women. Conclusion: It has been found that the prevalence of maternal GBS colonization during pregnancy was low and neither GBS colonization nor GBS non-colonization was associated with poor maternal or poor fetal outcomes.