Streptococcus agalactiae (group B streptococcus, GBS) is a leading causal organism of neonatal invasive diseases and severe infections in the elderly. Despite significant advances in the diagnosis and treatment of GBS infections and improvement in personal hygiene standards, this pathogen is still a global health concern. Thus, an effective vaccine against GBS would augment existing strategies ...

Background: Group B streptococcus is regarded as a potential factor for adverse outcomes of pregnancy such as preterm birth. Objective: To study the association of maternal vaginal colonization with group B streptococcus (GBS) and preterm labor. Materials and Methods: From April 2005 to May 2006, vaginal culture for GBS were conducted in 101 laboring women with a gestational age of 24-37 weeks ...

The accuracy of the urinary group B streptococcal antigen latex agglutination (LA) test for screening infants at risk of group B streptococcal (GBS) sepsis in the first 24 hours of life was prospectively studied in 236 infants for six months. Infection with GBS was defined by a positive blood culture while colonisation was defined by GBS cultured from any other site. The combination of infectio...

We developed a group B streptococcus (GBS) latex serotyping kit that reduces the numbers of GBS nontypeable isolates by nearly 50%. A total of 232 isolates were tested, and 203 isolates were serotyped by the GBS latex test, while the capillary precipitation test serotyped 184 isolates.

We report a case of bacterial endocarditis caused by nonhemolytic group B streptococcus (GBS) in a 67-year-old man with no predisposing risk factors. Nonhemolytic GBS strains rarely cause illness and are usually detected in perinatal infections. We believe this to be the first reported case of endocarditis caused by a nonhemolytic strain of GBS.

The sensitivity, specificity, and negative and positive predictive values for the detection of group B Streptococcus (GBS) in 206 LIM enrichment broths by the use of subculture, GBS peptide nucleic acid fluorescent in situ hybridization (PNA FISH), and GBS PCR were 96.9%, 100%, 98.6%, and 100%; 98.4%, 100%, 99.3%, and 100%; and 100%, 100%, 100%, and 100%, respectively.

BACKGROUND We examined the risk for Group B streptococcus (GBS)-related diseases in newborns born to mothers who participated in a universal GBS screening program and to determine whether differences are observed in factors affecting the morbidity for neonatal early-onset GBS-related diseases. METHODS This is a retrospective study and the study subjects were women who had undergone GBS screen...

PROBLEM Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. We tested the hypothesis that the choriodecidua plays a role in GBS-stimulated human beta defensin(HBD)-2 increases in amnion cells through a secreted factor of choriodecidual origin. METHOD OF STUDY Human amnion epithelial cells were treated with choriodecidual GBS-conditioned medium, live GBS, lipote...