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On INSERT DATE local resident INSERT YOUR NAME is DESCRIBE WHAT YOU
ARE GOING TO DO to support national charity Group B Strep Support. INSERT
YOUR NAME is hoping that HIS/HER fundraising challenge will raise funds together
with invaluable awareness of group B Strep infection in newborn babies.
The NAME OF YOUR EVENT will take place at INSERT NAME OF VENUE and INSERT TIME AND
WHY YOU ARE DOING IT.
INSERT YOUR STORY – fill in your personal story here, and how GBS affected your family
INSERT YOUR NAME says,”
Group B Strep is the UK’s most common cause of life-threatening infection in newborn babies and
of meningitis in babies up to the age of 3 months. Carried by between 20% and 30% of women, the
group B Strep bacteria can pass from a pregnant woman to baby during labour and birth with
devastating consequences for the newborn baby.
At least 500 babies a year in the UK are infected with group B Strep; of these, one in 10 sick babies
die, one in 20 survivors suffer long-term problems and five in 10 survivors of group B Strep
meningitis suffer long-term mental and physical problems including cerebral palsy. Yet women are
rarely told about it by their health professionals and even more rarely offered testing.
Group B Strep infection in newborn babies is preventable and is being successfully prevented in
many other developed countries which routinely offer pregnant women screening using sensitive
tests rarely available within the NHS. In these countries, rates of group B Strep infection in
newborn babies have fallen dramatically by up to 71% to 86%.1 A simple and inexpensive test in later
stages of pregnancy 35 to 37 weeks of pregnancy can detect the bacteria, allowing treatment to be
given to the mother during labour and so preventing infection in the newborn baby.
Only a few NHS trusts offer pregnant women ‘gold standard’ ECM (Enriched Culture Medium) for
testing for GBS. Fortunately, a number of private medical laboratories offer home-testing packs
following the ECM method described by Public Health England. The test results can then be used to
inform what preventative measures may be needed to minimise the risk of group B Strep infection in
newborn babies. Intravenous antibiotics given in labour to pregnant women carrying group B Strep
reduces group B Strep infection in newborn babies by up to 90%.
National charity Group B Strep Support campaigns for much greater awareness of this
devastating infection among mums-to-be and wants to see every pregnant woman in the UK given
accurate information about group B Strep as a routine part of her antenatal care, coupled with a
national screening programme offering testing for group B Strep at 35-37 weeks of pregnancy.
Jane Plumb MBE, chief executive of Group B Strep Support adds, “The Government should
act now to ensure that women get the very best advice and support during their pregnancy. This includes
giving information on the serious nature of group B Strep infection, offering testing late in pregnancy followed
by antibiotics during labour where appropriate to protect their baby from infection.”
To sponsor INSERT YOUR NAME, readers can donate online at INSERT THE URL OF YOUR
ONLINE DONATION PAGE, IF YOU HAVE ONE, OR YOUR CHARITY'S WEBSITE or can ring
INSERT YOUR NAME on INSERT YOUR PHONE NUMBER.
Include/attach any captioned family pictures you are happy to have published.
For further information please contact:
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1
Albouy-Llaty M, Nadeau C, Descombes E, Pierre F, Migeot V. Improving perinatal Group B streptococcus screening with
process indicators. J Eval Clin Pract 2011
For comment or greater detail:
Jane Plumb MBE, Chief Executive, Group B Strep Support
Tel:
01444 416176 (offfice hours)
e-mail:
jplumb@gbss.org.uk
For media enquiries and further information:
Sarah Fiedosiuk, Media and Awareness, Group B Strep Support
Tel:
01444 416176 (office hours - out of hours mobile 07984 639898)
email:
sfiedosiuk@gbss.org.uk
For free information on group B Strep, please visit
http://www.gbss.org.uk
Notes to Editors:

Group B Strep is the most common cause of life-threatening infection in
newborn babies and meningitis in babies up to the age of 3 months, passing from mother
to baby during labour and birth.

20% to 30% of women carry group B Strep, usually without harm or symptoms.
Identifying pregnant women likely to be carrying group B Strep infection and giving them
intravenous antibiotics (usually penicillin) during labour can reduce group B Strep infection in
newborn babies by up to 90%.

By 2013, the number of newborn babies developing group B Strep infection had
risen by 21% since the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists 2003 prevention
guidelines were introduced.

Even with the best medical care one in 10 babies of babies sick with group B Strep
infection dies, one in 20 of the survivors of group B Strep infection suffer long-term
problems and five in 10 survivors of group B Strep meningitis suffer long-term mental and
physical problems, including cerebral palsy.

Routine testing of all pregnant women in the UK for group B Strep carriage is
not currently recommended by the UK National Screening Committee.

Current UK group B Strep prevention strategy: The group B Strep rate per live
birth is higher now in the UK than it was in 2003, when the Royal College of
Obstetricians and Gynaecologists introduced their risk-based guidelines in an
effort to prevent cases of early-onset group B Strep infection in newborn babies.
These guidelines (updated 2012) were expected to reduce the incidence of earlyonset group B Strep infection significantly – by up to 60%. This has not happened
(see Data Series).

Carrying group B Strep at delivery is the key risk factor for group B Strep
infection in babies. Determining whether a pregnant woman carries group B Strep late in
pregnancy (35-37 weeks) is a better indicator of a baby’s risk of developing the infection.
Other countries which routinely screen have seen falls in the rate of these infections in
newborn babies by up to 86%.

Providing the test on the NHS would cost £11 per test. Private, home-testing kits are
available for around £35. Visit Testing.

A report on Group B Strep - Preventable Death and Disability caused by group
B Strep, summarises the pros and cons of the current group B Strep prevention in the UK.
http://www.gbss.org.uk/filepool/GBSSReport_2013.pdf
Charity Group B Strep Support is the UK’s dedicated charity to preventing life-threatening infection in
newborn babies, providing information and support to families affected by group B Strep, and their health
professionals. It is calling for every pregnant woman in the UK to be routinely tested to prevent unnecessary
tragedies. Group B Strep Support is supported by an independent medical advisory panel.