Group B streptococcal infection

Group B Streptococcal infection
Other namesGroup B streptococcal disease
Streptococcus agalactiae- Gram stain
SpecialtyPediatrics Edit this on Wikidata

Group B streptococcal infection, also known as Group B streptococcal disease or just Group B strep infection, is the infectious disease caused by the bacterium Streptococcus agalactiae. Streptococcus agalactiae is the most common human pathogen belonging to group B of the Lancefield classification of streptococci—hence the name of group B stretococcal (GBS). Infection with GBS can cause serious illness and sometimes death, especially in newborns, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems. The most severe form of group B streptococcal disease is neonatal meningitis in infants, which is frequently lethal and can cause permanent neuro-cognitive impairment.

S. agalactiae was recognized as a pathogen in cattle by Edmond Nocard and Mollereau in the late 1880s. It can cause bovine mastitis (inflammation of the udder) in dairy cows. The species name "agalactiae" meaning "no milk", alludes to this. Its significance as a human pathogen was first described in 1938,[1] and in the early 1960s, GBS came to be recognized as a major cause of infections in newborns.[2] In most people, Streptococcus agalactiae is a harmless commensal bacterium that is part of the normal human microbiota colonizing the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts. Up to 30% of healthy human adults are asymptomatic carriers of GBS.[3][4]

  1. ^ Fry RM (1938). "Fatal infections by haemolytic streptococcus group B.". The Lancet. 231 (5969): 199–201. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(00)93202-1.
  2. ^ Eickhoff TC, Klein JO, Daly AK, Ingall D, Finland M (December 1964). "Neonatal Sepsis and Other Infections Due to Group B Beta-Hemolytic Streptococci". The New England Journal of Medicine. 271 (24): 1221–1228. doi:10.1056/NEJM196412102712401. PMID 14234266.
  3. ^ Edwards MS, Baker CJ (2010). Streptococcus agalactiae (group B streptococcus). Mandell GL, Bennett JE, Dolin R (eds) Principles and practice of infectious diseases. Vol 2 (7th. ed.). Elsevier. pp. Chapter 202. ISBN 978-0-443-06839-3.
  4. ^ Edwards MS, Nizet V (2011). Group B streptococcal infections. Infectious Diseases of the Fetus and Newborn Infant (7th. ed.). Elsevier. pp. 419–469. ISBN 978-0-443-06839-3.