Group B Strep and Pregnancy: Difference between revisions

From MicrobeWiki, the student-edited microbiology resource
Line 4: Line 4:
<br>By Shawn Ruiz<br>
<br>By Shawn Ruiz<br>


<br>Group B Strep (GBS), also known as Streptococcus agalactiae, is a Gram-positive, beta-hemolytic, catalase-negative, facultative anaerobe that is a normal component of the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts<ref name=aa>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streptococcus_agalactiae]</ref>. In fact, GBS colonizes the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts of up to 50% of healthy adults<ref name=bb>[https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17088932/]</ref>. Most healthy adults who are colonized by GBS will not experience any symptoms or GBS-related infections. While the bacteria is usually harmless in healthy adults, it is a major cause of meningitis, pneumonia, and and sepsis in neonates<ref name=cc>[https://evidencebasedbirth.com/groupbstrep/]</ref>. Moreover, GBS is the leading infectious cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity in the United States; between four and six percent of babies who develop GBS disease die<ref name=dd>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482443/#:~:text=Preterm%20infants%20with%20early%2Donset,in%20term%20infants%5B2%5D.]</ref><ref name=ee>[https://www.cdc.gov/groupbstrep/about/fast-facts.html#references]</ref>. GBS causes both early onset (<7 days old) and late onset (7-90 days old) infections in neonates<ref name=dd/>. The main risk factor for an early-onset GBS infection in a neonate is colonization of a birthing person's genital tract with Group B strep during labor<ref name=dd/>. About one in four pregnant individuals carry GBS in their body<ref name=ee/>. If the bacteria is present in a pregnant person, it can be directly transferred to their baby in a multitude of ways. For example, GBS can travel from the vagina into the amniotic fluid where the baby can ingest it and/or the baby can come into contact with the bacteria as they make their way down the birth canal<ref name=cc/>. In the early 1990s, the early GBS infection rate was 1.7 cases per 1,000 births<ref name=cc/>. In an effort to decrease this infection rate, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended screening pregnant individuals for GBS<ref name=cc/>. As a result, it is now common practice to screen pregnant individuals for GBS at some point between 35 and 37 weeks of pregnancy<ref name=ee/>. Pregnant people who test positive for GBS are treated with intravenous antibiotics during labor<ref name=ee/>. Penicillin and ampicillin are the recommended antibiotics for intrapartum GBS prophylaxis<ref name=ff>[https://www.aafp.org/afp/2011/0501/p1106.html#:~:text=The%20recommended%20antibiotic%20for%20intrapartum,units%20intravenously%20every%20four%20hours.]</ref>.  
<br>Group B Strep (GBS), also known as Streptococcus agalactiae, is a Gram-positive, beta-hemolytic, catalase-negative, facultative anaerobe that is a normal component of the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts<ref name=aa>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streptococcus_agalactiae]</ref>. In fact, GBS colonizes the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts of up to 50% of healthy adults<ref name=bb>[https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17088932/]</ref>. Most healthy adults who are colonized by GBS will not experience any symptoms or GBS-related infections. While the bacteria is usually harmless in healthy adults, it is a major cause of meningitis, pneumonia, and and sepsis in neonates<ref name=cc>[https://evidencebasedbirth.com/groupbstrep/]</ref>. Moreover, GBS is the leading infectious cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity in the United States; between four and six percent of babies who develop GBS disease die<ref name=dd>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482443/#:~:text=Preterm%20infants%20with%20early%2Donset,in%20term%20infants%5B2%5D.]</ref><ref name=ee>[https://www.cdc.gov/groupbstrep/about/fast-facts.html#references]</ref>. GBS causes both early onset (<7 days old) and late onset (7-90 days old) infections in neonates<ref name=dd/>. The main risk factor for an early-onset GBS infection in a neonate is colonization of a birthing person's genital tract with Group B strep during labor<ref name=dd/>. About one in four pregnant individuals carry GBS in their body<ref name=ee/>. If the bacteria is present in a pregnant person, it can be directly transferred to their baby in a multitude of ways. For example, GBS can travel from the vagina into the amniotic fluid where the baby can ingest it and/or the baby can come into contact with the bacteria as they make their way down the birth canal<ref name=cc/>. In the early 1990s, the early GBS infection rate was 1.7 cases per 1,000 births<ref name=cc/>. In an effort to decrease this infection rate, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended screening pregnant individuals for GBS<ref name=cc/>. As a result, it is now common practice to screen pregnant individuals for GBS at some point between 35 and 37 weeks of pregnancy<ref name=ee/>. Pregnant people who test positive for GBS are treated with intravenous antibiotics during labor<ref name=ee/>. Penicillin and ampicillin are the recommended antibiotics for intrapartum GBS prophylaxis<ref name=ff>[https://www.aafp.org/afp/2011/0501/p1106.html#:~:text=The%20recommended%20antibiotic%20for%20intrapartum,units%20intravenously%20every%20four%20hours.]</ref>. Early GBS infection rates in the United States have significantly dropped (0.25 cases per 1,000 births) since these preventative measure went into effect around 1995<ref name=cc/>.  




Revision as of 02:28, 15 March 2021

This is a curated page. Report corrections to Microbewiki.

Introduction

This artistic recreation, based on scanning electron microscopy (SEM), depicts a three-dimensional (3D), computer-generated image, of a group of Gram-positive, Streptococcus agalactiae (group B Streptococcus) bacteria. Photo Credit: Alissa Eckert, who is a medical illustrator at the CDC.


By Shawn Ruiz


Group B Strep (GBS), also known as Streptococcus agalactiae, is a Gram-positive, beta-hemolytic, catalase-negative, facultative anaerobe that is a normal component of the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts[1]. In fact, GBS colonizes the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts of up to 50% of healthy adults[2]. Most healthy adults who are colonized by GBS will not experience any symptoms or GBS-related infections. While the bacteria is usually harmless in healthy adults, it is a major cause of meningitis, pneumonia, and and sepsis in neonates[3]. Moreover, GBS is the leading infectious cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity in the United States; between four and six percent of babies who develop GBS disease die[4][5]. GBS causes both early onset (<7 days old) and late onset (7-90 days old) infections in neonates[4]. The main risk factor for an early-onset GBS infection in a neonate is colonization of a birthing person's genital tract with Group B strep during labor[4]. About one in four pregnant individuals carry GBS in their body[5]. If the bacteria is present in a pregnant person, it can be directly transferred to their baby in a multitude of ways. For example, GBS can travel from the vagina into the amniotic fluid where the baby can ingest it and/or the baby can come into contact with the bacteria as they make their way down the birth canal[3]. In the early 1990s, the early GBS infection rate was 1.7 cases per 1,000 births[3]. In an effort to decrease this infection rate, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended screening pregnant individuals for GBS[3]. As a result, it is now common practice to screen pregnant individuals for GBS at some point between 35 and 37 weeks of pregnancy[5]. Pregnant people who test positive for GBS are treated with intravenous antibiotics during labor[5]. Penicillin and ampicillin are the recommended antibiotics for intrapartum GBS prophylaxis[6]. Early GBS infection rates in the United States have significantly dropped (0.25 cases per 1,000 births) since these preventative measure went into effect around 1995[3].




A citation code consists of a hyperlinked reference within "ref" begin and end codes.
To repeat the citation for other statements, the reference needs to have a names: "<ref name=aa>"
The repeated citation works like this, with a back slash.[1]

Section 1

Include some current research, with at least one figure showing data.

Every point of information REQUIRES CITATION using the citation tool shown above.

Section 2

Include some current research, with at least one figure showing data.

Section 3

Include some current research, with at least one figure showing data.

Section 4

Conclusion

References



Authored for BIOL 238 Microbiology, taught by Joan Slonczewski, 2021, Kenyon College.

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 [1]
  2. ↑ [2]
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 [3]
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 [4]
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 [5]
  6. ↑ [6]
Retrieved from "https://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php?title=Group_B_Strep_and_Pregnancy&oldid=145580"