30th January 2014
PROTECT YOUR UNBORN BABY FROM INFECTIONS
UK National Charity supports International Prenatal Infection
Awareness Month 1 to 28 February 2014
February is International Prenatal Infection Awareness Month, the aim is to help
women who are pregnant prevent infection and keep their unborn baby safe and
healthy. National charity Group B Strep Supports says “If you are pregnant, you should
make sure you know about group B Streptococcus.”
Group B Strep (or GBS) is the most common cause of life-threatening infection in newborn babies in
the UK, causing sepsis, meningitis and pneumonia, usually within the first week of life. It is carried by
around one in 4 women, usually without any symptoms, but it can by passed from a mother to her
baby around birth. When antibiotics are offered during labour to women who are carrying GBS,
90% of these infections can be prevented.
At least 10 babies a week in the UK are infected by group B Strep and, even with the best medical
care, 10% of these sick babies will die1 and some survivors will suffer long-term problems, including
cerebral palsy, deafness and blindness. Yet, the UK does not routinely test for GBS, or even inform
pregnant women about the condition.
The charity Group B Strep Support campaigns for better awareness of this devastating infection and
wants to see everyone pregnant women between 35 and 37 weeks of their pregnancy given the
opportunity to be informed, tested and if found to be GBS positive, offered antibiotics during labour
to protect the baby. Incidences of GBS infection in newborn babies in countries that routinely offer
antenatal tests for GBS have dramatically fallen –in the US by over 80% – whereas the UK has seen
the incidence increase by 50% in the decade from 2000.
The recent decision by the Department of Health to stop the introduction of the ‘gold standard’
Enriched Culture Medium (ECM) test for GBS carriage, scheduled to start from 1st January 2014, left
Group B Strep Support shocked and appalled by the last-minute U-turn. The charity continues to
campaign for ECM tests to be available for health professionals to request when in their professional
judgement it is appropriate to determine a pregnant woman’s GBS carriage status.
1
2003 Heath BPSU)
The ECM test is internationally recognised as being the best test currently available to detect GBS
carriage, unlike the ‘general purpose’ test which will miss between 30-50% of GBS carriers. Without
GBS-specific testing, pregnant mothers who are at ‘higher risk’ will not be identified, preventative
antibiotics will not offered in labour and GBS infection in newborn babies will continue to take their
toll.
Group B Strep Support’s Chief Executive, Jane Plumb MBE, whose middle child died from GBS
infection, says, “Every mother-to-be should be informed about group B Strep during her antenatal care and,
if she or her health professional wants her to be tested for it in pregnancy, the ‘gold standard’ test should be
available on the NHS. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ risk-based guideline5
introduced in 2003 have not resulted in the falls in incidence we’d all hoped for. Being able to test pregnant
women for group B Strep within the NHS will I believe make a significant impact on the numbers of babies
suffering preventable GBS infection.”
The ‘gold standard’ test for group B Strep, which poses no risk to the mother or her baby, is
available privately at a cost of £35 per test (estimated NHS cost in 2009 of £11 per test) and from a
handful of NHS trusts. See www.gbss.org.uk/test for availability.
Offer: To support February’s Prenatal Infection Month, The Doctors Laboratory (TDL)
is offering the ECM test for GBS for £29 – Tel: 0207 307 7373.
Group B Strep Support is asking that:
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Information about group B Strep should be routinely given to all women as part of their
antenatal care
Sensitive testing for group B Strep should be made freely available within the NHS and
available at the request of pregnant women and their health professionals
Antibiotics should be offered intravenously in labour to all mums whose babies are known
to be at higher risk of developing GBS infection
The use of the ‘standard’ test within the NHS for the detection of GBS carriage in pregnancy
should cease and vaginal swabs taken from pregnant women should always be tested using a
method that offers good sensitivity for GBS dictation.
Jane Plumb MBE adds, “The Government should act now to ensure 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
the baby from infection.”
For further information:
Jane Plumb, Chief Executive, Group B Strep Support for comment or greater detail
Tel:
01444 416176
e-mail:
jplumb@gbss.org.uk
For further press information:
Sarah Fiedosiuk, Media and Awareness, Group B Strep Support
Tel:
01444 416176
email:
sfiedosiuk@gbss.org.uk
Group B Strep Support, P O Box 203, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 1GF www.gbss.org.uk.
Registered Charity No 1112065. Company Registration No 5587535
Notes to editors:
Group B Strep (GBS) carriage: Group B Strep is a normal bacterium carried by up to 30% of adults in the
intestines and approximately 25% of women in the vagina. It can be passed from mother to baby around
labour. This causes no problems for most babies: for some, it can be deadly, causing sepsis, pneumonia and
meningitis. Even with the best medical care, approximately one in every ten of these very sick babies will die
from their GBS infection and some of the survivors will suffer life-long disabilities.
GBS infection in newborn babies: Group B Strep is the UK’s most common cause of life threatening
infection in newborn babies. In England, Wales, the reported number of early-onset GBS infections has
increased by 50% (from 0.28 to 0.41 live births) between 2000 and 2010
http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/57/5/682.full.pdf?keytype=ref&ijkey=ww95BI69E9sn44n.
UK GBS guidelines : The Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists introduced guidelines to prevent
GBS infection in newborn babies in 2003, although these have had little discernable impact on the incidence of
these infections (see data series at
http://www.hpa.org.uk/web/HPAweb&Page&HPAwebAutoListDate/Page/1202487097746).
Risk factors GBS infection in babies: Newborn babies are at higher risk of developing group B Strep
infection when certain ‘risk factors’ are present during the pregnancy, labour and delivery. These are:
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Mum carrying group B Strep during the current pregnancy,
Mum having a urinary tract infection caused by group B Strep during the current pregnancy,
a previous sibling having developed group B Strep infection,
Mum’s waters breaking more than 18 hours before delivery,
labour starting or waters breaking before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy and
Mum having a fever in labour.
However, known risk factors are only present in fewer than 60% of newborn babies who develop group B
Strep infection: determining whether a pregnant woman carries group B Strep late in pregnancy is a better
indicator of the baby’s risk.
GBS testing: A small but growing number of NHS trusts make sensitive testing for group B Strep carriage
available to pregnant women at the request of their health professionals, but most don’t. A number of private
medical laboratories offer at-home-testing packs for around £35. See http://www.gbss.org.uk/test for the
availability of sensitive testing following Public Health England’s UK Standard for GBS testing B 58 from NHS
trusts and private laboratories. Providing the test on the NHS would cost £11 per test. (Group B Strep
Support has no links and receives no money from any laboratory.)
A Report on preventable death and disability caused by group B Strep summarises the pros and cons of
different GBS prevention strategies for the UK – see http://www.gbss.org.uk/2013Report.
Group B Strep Support: UK charity Group B Strep Support provides information and support to families affected
by group B Strep and their health professionals. It is the UK’s only charity dedicated to the prevention of group B Strep
infection in newborn babies and provides comprehensive and reliable information, both printed and online. Group B
Strep Support is supported by an independent medical advisory panel http://tinyurl.com/GBSS-MAP