Incidence Of Neonatal Group Research Articles

Comparison of 4 commercially available group B Streptococcus molecular assays using remnant rectal–vaginal enrichment broths

The incidence of neonatal Group B streptococcal (GBS) disease has significantly declined since the widespread implementation of prenatal screening of expectant mothers for urogenital and gastrointestinal tract GBS colonization. Screening methods have evolved from exclusively culture-based approaches to more rapid and highly sensitive molecular methods. We chose to evaluate the performance of 4 commercially available GBS molecular tests for detection of GBS colonization using 299 antepartum rectal–vaginal specimens submitted to our laboratory for routine GBS screening. In 97% of instances, there was agreement between all 3 systems. When testing 1, 6, and 12 samples simultaneously, all methods performed comparably, but the ARIES® GBS assay required the least total hands-on time and the illumigene® Group B Streptococcus assay required the most hands-on time.

Group B streptococcal infection in a tertiary hospital in India--1998-2010.

This retrospective study was done to determine the incidence of neonatal Group B streptococcal sepsis among newborn between 1998 and 2010. Among 107,692 babies born during this period, the overall incidence of Group B streptococcal sepsis was 0.76/1000 live births with the incidence of early onset sepsis being 0.68 (95% confidence interval: 0.52-0.83)/1000 live births. The overall rate of early onset sepsis decreased to 0.55/1000 live births with introduction of intrapartum antibiotic policy.

Intrapartum Antibiotic Prophylaxis: Less Disease, But More Resistance

Clinical trials during the 1980s indicated that intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis (IAP) given during labor could reduce the incidence of neonatal group B streptococcal (GBS) infection. National guidelines published in the mid-1990s recommended two options for preventing perinatal GBS disease. The first option is to screen pregnant women for group B streptococci and give IAP to carriers; the second option is to offer IAP to women in labor who have risk factors for GBS infection (fever, prolonged rupture of membranes, or imminent preterm delivery). …

Evaluation of group B streptococcal opsonins by radiolabeled bacterial uptake

The incidence of neonatal group B streptococcal sepsis and meningitis has increased in the last decade. Antibiotic therapy has proved inadequate in controlling this problem, and in developing immunological methods of disease prevention and control it is important to define the critical bacterial and host factors involved in the immune response. We have used a radiolabeled bacterial uptake method to assess the presence of functional opsonins for a strain of type III group B streptococci. Bacteria, labeled with tritiated leucine, were opsonized in fresh, heated or Mg-EGTA treated serum. The opsonized streptococci were added to monolayers of adult human phagocytes 90% adherent to glass coverslips. At 10-min intervals for 60 min the coverslips were washed free of uningested bacteria and placed in a scintillation counter to determine the degree of phagocytosis. Maximum opsonic activity was obtained with specific antibody containing serum. No uptake of unopsonized bacteria was observed. Markedly reduced activity with heated and Mg-EGTA treated serum indicated a major role for the classical complement pathway in host defense against group B streptococci. Serum lacking specific antibody demonstrated almost no uptake indicating a minor role for the alternative pathway in opsonizing these organisms. Reduced levels of phagocytosis were also measured in every case where sera from patients with known type III infections were used for opsonization. These results agree with previous data from our laboratory using a chemiluminescence assay of opsonic activity.