Spotlight on group B strep
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July is International Group B Strep Awareness Month and UK charity Group B Strep Support is urging expectant parents to find out about the infection.
Group B strep (GBS) is a common, normally harmless bacterium carried by around one quarter of adults, which can be passed from mother to baby at birth.
On average, in the UK, one baby dies every week from the infection and one baby a fortnight is left with a lifelong disability. However, fewer than 50 per cent of pregnant women have heard of the infection, and of those, only a third had learned about it from healthcare professionals.