[Antimicrobial susceptibility and serotype distribution in perinatal group B Streptococcus isolates--a 1999-2009 multicenter study].

We determined temporary changes in group B Streptococcus antimicrobial susceptibility and serotype distribution from perinatal strains. We examined invasive microbiological isolates from neonates with early-onset group B streptococcal disease (n = 14), and colonized isolates from those born uneventfully (n = 55) and from the genital tracts of pregnant and puerperal women (n = 198), collected between 1999 and 2009. All isolates were susceptible to penicillin.

[Prevention of vertical transmission of Group B Streptococcus].

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) are pathogens that involve a risk of vertical transmission. They are the infecting organism in approximately one quarter of all cases of neonatal sepsis and meningitis, making prevention of GBS infection an important goal. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends administration of antibiotic prophylaxis to GBS-colonized pregnant women at least 4 hours before delivery, but the time of antibiotic prophylaxis administration is not generally reported in Japan.