BACKGROUND Serotype-specific polysaccharide based group B streptococcus (GBS) vaccines are being developed. An understanding of the serotype epidemiology associated with maternal colonization and invasive disease in infants is necessary to determine the potential coverage of serotype-specific GBS vaccines. METHODS Colonizing GBS isolates were identified by vaginal swabbing of mothers during a...

Group B streptococcus (GBS) is a leading neonatal pathogen and a growing cause of invasive disease in the elderly, with clinical manifestations such as pneumonia and sepsis. Despite its clinical importance, little is known about innate immunity against GBS in humans. Here, we analyze the role of human group IIA secreted phospholipase A2 (sPLA2-IIA), a bactericidal enzyme induced during acute in...

BACKGROUND Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is the leading cause of neonatal sepsis in the developed world. Little is known about its epidemiology in the developing world, where the majority of deaths from neonatal infections occur. Maternal carriage of GBS is a prerequisite for the development of early onset GBS neonatal sepsis but there is a paucity of carriage data published from the developing w...

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) cell walls potently activate phagocytes by a largely TLR2-independent mechanism. In contrast, the cell wall component lipoteichoic acid (LTA) from diverse Gram-positive bacterial species has been shown to engage TLR2. In this study we examined the role of LTA from GBS in phagocyte activation and the requirements for TLR-LTA interaction. Using cells from knockout mice...

Neonatal infection with Streptococcus agalactiae (group B Streptococcus [GBS]) is a leading cause of sepsis and meningitis in newborns. Recent guidelines have recommended universal screening of all pregnant women to identify those colonized with GBS and administration of peripartum prophylaxis to those identified as carriers to reduce the risk of early-onset GBS disease in neonates. Enriched cu...

background: group b streptococcus (gbs) is the major cause of serious life threatening infections in neonates, pregnant women, and other adults with underlying diseases. capsular polysaccharide typing is a significant way for epidemiological studies of gbs, the pathogenesis, and other studies associated with gbs infections including surveillance programs and vaccine development in future. molec...

Because of widespread distribution of the influenza A (H1N1) 2009 monovalent vaccine (pH1N1 vaccine) and the prior association between Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and the 1976 H1N1 influenza vaccine, enhanced surveillance was implemented to estimate the magnitude of any increased GBS risk following administration of pH1N1 vaccine. The authors conducted active, population-based surveillance fo...

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute immune-mediated polyradiculoneuropathy which can cause acute quadriplegia. Infection with micro-organisms, including Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni), Haemophilus influenzae, and Cytomegalovirus (CMV), is recognized as a main triggering event for the disease. Lipooligosaccharide (LOS) genes are responsible for the formation of human ganglioside-like LOS...

OBJECTIVE A potential association between diabetes and Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) has been indicated by a few case studies. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical features of a large cohort of GBS patients to explore the relationship between the level of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) obtained in the acute phase at admission and the severity of GBS. METHODS Three hundred and four GBS patie...

OBJECTIVE Group B streptococcal (GBS) vulvovaginitis is a poorly-delineated clinical entity. The purpose of this study is to report semiquantitative data from four cases of GBS vulvovaginitis and to comment on their significance in terms of the in vitro inhibitory capabilities of GBS. METHODOLOGY Four patients whose clinical presentations were consistent with GBS vulvovaginitis, from whom GBS...