Prevalence and molecular characterisation of group B streptococcus in pregnant women from hospitals in ohangwena and oshikoto regions of namibia.

Abstract

Group B streptococcus (GBS) naturally colonises the lower gastrointestinal and female genitourinary tract. It poses a great risk of morbidity and mortality to infants born to colonised mothers. It is highly implicated in maternal infections such as endometritis and chorioamnionitis as well as neonatal infections such as pneumonia, meningitis and septicaemia. It also causes stillbirths and miscarriages in colonised women. Group B streptococcus infection in neonates is classified in two clinical syndromes, which are Early Onset Disease (EOD) and Late Onset Disease (LOD). Early Onset Disease presents between day zero and day seven, and LOD between day eight and day ninetieth (third month) of the infant’s life. GBS is classified into capsular types Ia, Ib and II – IX, based on the polysaccharide capsular antigens of the bacterium. This study aimed at determining the prevalence rate, antimicrobial susceptibility patterns and molecular characteristics of Streptococcus agalactiae isolated from pregnant women at 35 weeks of gestation and above, who attended antenatal screening at selected hospitals in Ohangwena and Oshikoto regions of Namibia.