Abstract
Sepsis caused by group B streptococcus (GBS) remains among the most commonly occurring infections in the neonatal period despite the decrease in incidence of early onset neonatal disease (GBS EOD) over the last 25 years. This decline in incidence can be attributed to the screening of pregnant women and subsequent targeted intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis upon positive culture testing.
About 70 % of the cases of GBS EOD occur in term neonates, however the most vulnerable group of patients are neonates born prior to 35 weeks of gestation. The leading clinical symptom in infected neonates is respiratory distress and GBS EOD frequently manifests as sepsis and/or pneumonia which is typically associated with varying degrees of organ dysfunction.
Unlike GBS EOD, late onset GBS infections (GBS LOD) are not influenced by peripartum antibiotic prophylaxis, and their incidence has remained unchanged during last decades. In such cases, preterm delivery is the most important risk factor (delivery before 37 weeks of gestation).
Contrary to early onset infections, GBS LOD commonly clinically presents with fever and thereafter usually also manifests as sepsis, which is accompanied by purulent meningitis in approximately 30 % of cases.