High Rate of Serotype V Carriage in Pregnant Women in Botswana.

Maternal rectovaginal colonization is the major risk factor for early-onset neonatal sepsis due to Group B (GBS), a major cause of early life morbidity and mortality. Transmission generally occurs perinatally from colonized mothers to infants. Vaccines targeting a subset of GBS serotypes are under development, but GBS epidemiology remains poorly understood in many African nations.

Improving the Sensitivity of Real-time PCR Detection of Group B Streptococcus Using Consensus Sequence-Derived Oligonucleotides.

Group B (GBS) is a perinatal pathogen and an emerging cause of disease in adults. Culture-independent GBS detection relies on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of conserved genes, including . We demonstrate suboptimal sensitivity of the existing PCR strategy and validate an improved method based on consensus sequences from >100 GBS genomes.