Group B streptococcus infection in mother and child

Despite significant advances in obstetric and pediatric health care, group B beta-hemolytic Streptococcus (GBS) remains one of the most prevalent and devastating pathogens in peripartum women and their newborn infants. It may cause urinary tract infection, chorioamnionitis and endometritis, bacteremia, and cesarean wound infection in the peripartum period. Moreover, GBS accounts for nearly 50% of serious neonatal bacterial infections. Approximately three in every 1,000 children born in the United States acquire pneumonia, sepsis, or meningitis from GBS, with combined mortality and morbidity exceeding 50% despite appropriate antibiotic and supportive therapy. Estimates indicate that more than 10,000 infants are affected annually, at a cost of more than $300 million. Neonatal disease is divided into early- and late-onset syndromes: The illness emerging after six days of age differs in terms of GBS serotype, clinical manifestations, and outcome from the disseminated process seen in earlier onset. We describe two infants infected with GBS and discuss risk factors, pathogenesis, diagnosis, therapy, and options for disease prevention in the peripartum woman and her infant.