{"id":57623,"date":"2017-11-06T00:15:25","date_gmt":"2017-11-06T05:15:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/maternal-vaccine-could-prevent-231000-gbs-cases-in-babies-and-pregnant-women-a-year\/"},"modified":"2017-11-06T00:15:25","modified_gmt":"2017-11-06T05:15:25","slug":"maternal-vaccine-could-prevent-231000-gbs-cases-in-babies-and-pregnant-women-a-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/maternal-vaccine-could-prevent-231000-gbs-cases-in-babies-and-pregnant-women-a-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Maternal Vaccine Could Prevent 231,000 GBS Cases In Babies And Pregnant Women A Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maternal Vaccine Could Prevent 231,000 GBS Cases In Babies And Pregnant Women A Year<\/b><\/p>\n

A maternal vaccine could prevent 231,000 infant and maternal Group B Streptococcus (GBS) cases a year, the first global study of the bacteria has found.<\/p>\n

GBS is a bacteria that occurs naturally in the lower vaginal tract and is carried by about 150,000 pregnant women<\/a> each year in the UK. Most will suffer no ill effects, but in some cases they will pass the bacteria on to their\u00a0baby<\/a>\u00a0during labour. Most babies exposed to GBS will be unaffected, but in around one in every 2,000 cases they can become infected.<\/p>\n

As newborn babies\u2019 immune systems aren\u2019t fully developed, Strep B bacteria can quickly spread through their body, causing serious infections, such as meningitis.<\/p>\n

Natalie Juliet Hobster was killed by meningitis caused by GBS last month. She was just seven days old. <\/strong>” alt=”Natalie Juliet Hobster was killed by meningitis caused by GBS last month. She was just seven days old. <\/strong>” data-credit=”Family handout” data-portal-copyright=”Family handout” data-provider=”Other” data-provider-asset-id=”205830150″ data-has-syndication-rights=”false”><\/p>\n

The study led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine <\/a>(LSHTM) estimates that one in five pregnant women<\/a> around the world carry GBS, and that out of 410,000 GBS cases every year, there will be at least 147,000 stillbirths and infant deaths globally.<\/p>\n

Although several vaccines to prevent this cause of maternal and infant ill health and death are in development, none are currently available.<\/p>\n

This is despite the disease accounting for more than the combined neonatal deaths from tetanus, pertussis, and respiratory syncytial virus, for which maternal vaccines are already in use, or further advanced in development, the report\u2019s authors state.<\/p>\n

The analysis – funded by a grant from the\u00a0Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation<\/a>\u00a0and published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases<\/a>\u00a0– shows for the first time that a GBS vaccine which was 80% effective and reached 90% of women<\/a>, could potentially prevent 231,000 infant and maternal GBS cases.<\/p>\n

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Global Statistics\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

An average of 18% of women<\/a> worldwide carry GBS bacteria. This is equivalent to 21.7million women<\/a> in 195 countries\u00a0<\/p>\n

The top five countries are:\u00a0<\/p>\n