Rectal colonization with group B streptococci: relation to urogenital carriage

Urethral, cervical and rectal specimens were taken from 92 females and urethral and rectal swabs from 46 males attending a venereological outpatient department. The frequencies of group B streptococci were, in the women: urethra 24%, cervix 14% and rectum 17%; in the males: urethra 22% and rectum 7%. These findings, supported by the results of serotyping, clearly demonstrate that the human urethra is an important site of colonization and do not support the idea that the gastrointestinal canal is the primary site of acquisition.