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What is Group B Strep?
What is Group B streptococcus (GBS)?
Are Group B Strep bacteria sexually transmitted?
Jan 3, 2024 · Most common infections. Newborns: GBS bacteria most commonly cause bacteremia, sepsis, pneumonia, and meningitis. Adults: Bloodstream infections, pneumonia, and skin and bone infections are the most common GBS infections among non-pregnant adults.
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Key points. Group B Streptococcus (group B strep, GBS)...
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Group B Strep Surveillance and Trends. Group B strep remain...
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Infants
Most babies born to women carrying group B strep are healthy. But the few who are infected by group B strep during labor can become critically ill. In infants, illness caused by group B strep can be within six hours of birth (early onset) — or weeks or months after birth (late onset). Signs and symptoms might include:
Adults
Many adults carry group B strep in their bodies — usually in the bowel, vagina, rectum, bladder or throat — and have no signs or symptoms. In some cases, however, group B strep can cause a urinary tract infection or other more-serious infections. Signs and symptoms of infections that may be caused by group B strep include the following. Urinary tract infection Blood infection (bacteremia) Pneumonia Skin or soft-tissue infection Bone or joint infection
If you have signs or symptoms of group B strep infection — particularly if you're pregnant, you have a chronic medical condition or you're older than 65 — contact your doctor right away.
If you notice your infant has signs or symptoms of group B strep disease, contact your baby's doctor immediately.
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Many healthy people carry group B strep bacteria in their bodies. You might carry the bacteria in your body for a short time — it can come and go — or you might always have it. Group B strep bacteria aren't sexually transmitted, and they're not spread through food or water. How the bacteria are spread to anyone other than newborns isn't known.
Group B strep can spread to a baby during a vaginal delivery if the baby is exposed to — or swallows — fluids containing group B strep.
Infants
An infant is at increased risk of developing group B strep disease if:
Adults
Adults age 65 and older are at increased risk of group B strep. You're also at increased risk of if you have a condition that impairs your immune system or other serious diseases, including the following:
Group B strep infection can lead to life-threatening disease in infants, including:
•Pneumonia
•Inflammation of the membranes and fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord (meningitis)
•Infection in the bloodstream (bacteremia)
If you're pregnant, group B strep can cause the following:
•Urinary tract infection
If you're pregnant, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends a group B strep screening during weeks 36 to 37 of pregnancy. Your doctor will take swab samples from your vagina and rectum and send them to a lab for testing.
A positive test indicates that you carry group B strep. It doesn't mean that you're ill or that your baby will be affected, but that you're at increased risk of passing the bacteria to your baby.
To prevent group B bacteria from spreading to your baby during labor or delivery, your doctor can give you an IV antibiotic — usually penicillin or a related drug — when labor begins.
If you're allergic to penicillin or related drugs, you might receive clindamycin or vancomycin as an alternative. Because the effectiveness of these alternatives is not well understood, your baby will be monitored for up to 48 hours.
Taking oral antibiotics ahead of time won't help because the bacteria can return before labor begins.
Antibiotic treatment during labor is also recommended if you:
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Group B strep is a common bacterium that can cause serious infections in newborns, adults with chronic conditions, and older adults. Learn about the signs, risk factors, complications, and how to protect yourself and your baby from group B strep disease.
Group B streptococcal infection, also known as Group B streptococcal disease or just Group B strep infection, is the infectious disease caused by the bacterium Streptococcus agalactiae, which is the most common human pathogen belonging to the group B of the Lancefield classification of streptococci —hence the group B stretococcal (GBS ...
Aug 5, 2022 · Group B strep is a bacterium that can cause serious infections in newborns if passed from the pregnant parent during labor. Learn how to test for, treat, and prevent GBS disease in infants and adults.
Sep 21, 2021 · Learn how group B strep disease is diagnosed and treated in infants and adults. Find out about the symptoms, causes, complications and prevention of this bacterial infection.
