Worldwide, more than 21 million pregnant women carry the bacteria which used to be thought harmless, say researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). One in five pregnant women carries the bacteria, which can cause meningitis and also life-threatening septicaemia – blood poisoning – in them and their baby. The team calculate it causes 90,000 infant deaths and 57,000 stillbirths worldwide at a very conservative estimate. By filling in one of the great voids in public health data, this work provides crucial insight and shows the pressing unmet need for the development of an effective GBS vaccine. “It is now essential to accelerate the GBS vaccine development activities,” he said.

Source: The Guardian November 06, 2017 04:52 UTC