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Sexual transmission and reinfection of group B streptococci between spouses
T Yamamoto1, I Nagasawa, M Nojima
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Koshigaya Municipal Hospital, Saitama, Japan.
Objective:
To study how GBS infection takes place between pregnant GBS-carriers and their husbands.
Methods:
Pregnant women in whom GBS infections could be detected during 26 to 30 weeks of pregnancy and their husbands were studied during the two periods of August 1994 through May 1995 (Period A, 243 couples) and June through September 1997 (Period B, 141 couples). A urine sample was collected from a husband in the same morning when the vagina of his wife was tested for GBS. GBS were also classified according to their serotypes in 34 couples during Period A and B.
Results:
In the two periods, GBS was detected in 18.1 and 19.3% of the wive's vaginal cultures, and in 19.1 and 17.0% of husbands' urinary cultures, respectively. There were no significant differences of the rate of GBS detection between the spouses, and also between the two trials. A high possibility of GBS infection was found in a couple when either of the spouses was possible to GBS. The serotypes of 31 of the 34 couples (91.2%) were identical.
Conclusion:
It is suggested that GBS can be sexually transmitted, and cause reinfection between spouses in spite of antepartum medication.