[Isolation of Group B streptococci from urine in healthy persons. Streptococcal Diseases Study Group]

It is known that the neonatal group B streptococcal disease in most cases is acquired by contamination during passage through the birth canal at the time of delivery. Therefore, to investigate the influence of colonization of group B streptococci in the female genital tract by age, we carried out the isolation of group B streptococci from the urine of healthy children of school age group, and those age groups were as follow: kindergarten primary school students, junior high school students, high school students and women over twenty years of age. The isolation rates of group B streptococci from the urine of the healthy persons by each group were as follow: 12.5-18.2% in 93 females and 0-0.3% in 90 males in kindergarten aged 3-5 years, 6.4-25.3% in 285 females and 0.3-3.2% males in primary school aged 6-11 years, 11.8-19.1% in 183 females and 0-7.1% in 233 males in junior high school aged 12-14 years, 16.4-23.7% in 416 females and 2.6-7.1% in 114 males in high school aged 15-17 years, and 35.0-50.0% in adult females aged 20-60 years. Isolation rates according to sex were 2.2% in 756 males to 17.5% in 977 females of aged 3-17 years, and there was a clearly highly significant difference between males and females (p < 0.01). Group B streptococci isolated from urine of 1,818 persons were 220 strains (12.1%), and the 146 (66.4%) in all strains could be typed by the serological test.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)