Group B Strep and Pregnancy

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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].




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References



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