MICROBIOLOGY
Group B streptococcal disease: Black and Asian newborns at higher risk
Group B Streptococcus is the most common cause of life-threatening infection in newborns, and in the UK on average two babies a day develop the infection. Now, the charity Group B Strep Support has called for greater awareness of the disease and for hospitals to enroll in the ongoing GBS3 trial.
A new study led by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has found that rates of group B streptococcal (GBS) disease are significantly higher in infants of Black or Asian ethnicity, compared to infants of White ethnicity.1 Group B streptococcal disease is the most common cause of life-threatening infection in newborn babies, causing a range of serious infections including pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis.2
In
the UK, on average, two babies a day develop the infection, with one a week dying and one a week being left with life- changing disability.1
Group B streptococcal disease is the most common cause of life- threatening infection in newborn babies, causing a range of serious infections including pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis
A microbiologist preparing group B streptococci for serotyping and antimicrobial susceptibility testing.
WWW.PATHOLOGYINPRACTICE.COM SEPTEMBER 2022 35 A new study, published in the journal
Pediatrics, used national laboratory data and NHS hospital records for England for the period 2016–2020. It found that: among infants of Black ethnicity, the
overall rate of invasive GBS disease was 51% higher than for White infants; and, among infants of Asian ethnicity, the overall rate of GBS disease was 28% higher than for White infants.
Risk factors Group B streptococcal bacteria are present in approximately one in five pregnant women and birthing people, usually causing no harm to the carrier, but may be passed unknowingly from a mother to her baby around birth. Administering antibiotics during labour can reduce the risk of a newborn baby developing GBS infection by 90%.3 The UK currently does not routinely
test pregnant women and birthing people. Instead, risk factors are used to
CDC/Melissa Brower
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