Group B Streptococcus colonisation, prevalence, associated risk factors and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern among pregnant women attending antenatal care at Dschang District Hospital, West Region of Cameroon: A hospital-based cross-sectional study.

Background: Group B Streptococcus (GBS), also known as Streptococcus agalactiae, is a Gram-positive bacterium known for its ability to colonise the vaginal and rectal areas of the mother and is a leading cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity. This study aimed at determining the prevalence, associated risk factors and antimicrobial susceptibility of GBS colonisation among pregnant women attending antenatal care (ANC) at Dschang District Hospital.

Methods: This hospital-based cross-sectional study used a multistage sampling method to recruit a total of 621 consented pregnant women who attended ANC in Dchang District Hospital. The 621 Participants at 23.5 ± 6.4 weeks gestation each completed a questionnaire and vaginal swabs were collected for GBS analysis.

Results: Among the 621 pregnant women that were included in this study, the colonisation rate of GBS was found to be 8.69%. Induced abortion (odds ratio [CI] = 3.09, 95% [1.56-6.21]), Spontaneous abortions (OR = 2.82, 95% CI 1.14-7.29), Stillbirth (OR [CI] = 7.75, 95% [2.61-21.71]), Fever (OR [CI] = 0.37, 95% [0.19-0.71]) and anaemia (OR [CI] = 0.22, 95% [0.12-0.43]) were found to be factors associated with GBS colonisation.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that we found that, induce abortion, spontaneous abortions and stillbirths were highly associated rates of GBS colonisation, while fever and anaemia were associated with lower rates of GBS colonisation. Further longitudinal research is needed to establish the causal relationship and its biological mechanisms.