Publication:

Prevalence and antibiotic sensitivity of Group B Streptococcus (GBS) infection among antenatal women

Background Group B Streptococcus (GBS) infection in pregnant women is a major concern as it causes septicemia in neonates which is fatal and potentially life threatening. Objectives of present study were to study the distribution of Group B streptococcus infection among pregnant women at term, to understand if penicillin is still effective as the drug of choice, to determine the alternate drug of choice in women with Group B streptococcus infection if resistant to penicillin and analyze the proportion of Group B Streptococcus infection as a vaginal commensal.

Methods This is a hospital based prospective study comprising of 350 pregnant women at term gestation. Vaginal swabs as well as neonatal nasal swabs following delivery were collected under aseptic precautions and sent for culture and sensitivity.

Results Vaginal swab culture reports of 308 women out of 350 showed a growth. Candida albicans (23.8%), Enterococcus (5.6%), Escherichia coli (4.2%), MRSA (4.2%), Staphylococcus aureus (1.4%) and Group B Streptococcus (1.4%) were the organisms isolated. Penicillin is still the drug of choice for group B Streptococcal infection in antenatal women with Linezolid being the alternate drug of choice. None of the neonatal nasal swabs revealed any growth on culture and sensitivity.

Conclusions This study does not recommend routine screening for Group B Streptococcus in all pregnant women unless they have a positive history in previous pregnancies. Our study also revealed various other organisms which could be responsible for increasing the risk of maternal and neonatal morbidity.