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Late-onset neonatal group B streptococcal disease associated with breast milk transmission: molecular typing using

Micaela Brandolini1, Marta Corbella1, Patrizia Cambieri1

  • 1Microbiology and Virology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy.

Early Human Development
|April 9, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) can cause late-onset neonatal infections. Molecular typing confirmed GBS transmission via breast milk in four out of five infant cases, with distinct bacterial strains.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal infections
  • Bacterial pathogenesis
  • Molecular epidemiology

Background:

  • Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a primary cause of neonatal sepsis and meningitis.
  • Late-onset GBS infections, occurring 1 week to 3 months post-birth, are less common.
  • While GBS transmission via breast milk is suspected, molecular confirmation is rare.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of maternal milk in late-onset Group B Streptococcus disease.
  • To confirm GBS transmission through breast milk using molecular techniques.
  • To determine the epidemiological relatedness of late-onset GBS infections.

Main Methods:

  • Case study of five infants with late-onset GBS disease.
  • Utilized random amplified polymorphic DNA polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) for bacterial strain typing.
  • Compared GBS isolates from infants and maternal milk.

Main Results:

  • Maternal milk was confirmed as the source of GBS infection in four of the five cases.
  • RAPD-PCR typing revealed distinct genotypes for each GBS isolate.
  • The infections were not epidemiologically linked, indicating independent transmission events.

Conclusions:

  • Breast milk is a significant, though infrequent, route for late-onset GBS transmission.
  • Molecular typing is crucial for confirming GBS transmission pathways.
  • Late-onset GBS cases in this study originated from different GBS clones.

Keywords:
Breast milk transmissionGroup B streptococcal diseaseRandom amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)

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