Near-term pregnant women in the Dominican Republic experience high rates of Group B Streptococcus rectovaginal colonization with virulent strains.

ABSTRACT: Maternal colonization with Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is an important cause of stillbirth, prematurity, and serious infection and death in infants worldwide. Resource constraints limit prevention strategies in many regions. Maternal GBS vaccines in development could be a more accessible prevention strategy, but data on geographic variations in GBS clones are needed to guide development of a broadly effective vaccine. In the Dominican Republic (DR), limited data suggest that pregnant women experience GBS colonization at rates among the highest globally. We aimed to determine the prevalence of maternal rectovaginal GBS colonization and describe clonal characteristics of colonizing strains in the DR. A cross-sectional study assessed rectovaginal GBS colonization in 350 near-term pregnant wom

SUBMITTER: Laycock KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10513192 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature