Monday, November 9, 2009

Progress made on Group B Streptococcus Vaccine

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) has been found in one-third of pregnant women in the U.S. GBS can be passed from mother to child during gestation, birth, or even after delivery. Currently, effective antibiotics (penicillin or a penicillin type) are given during labor to prevent the newborn from acquiring GBS during birth. However, since many women are allergic to these antibiotics or in some cases deliver the baby before the antibiotics can be administered, researchers have developed a vaccine for the GBS bacterium. This vaccine was safe and had a modest effect on the most common type of Group B Streptococcus bacteria (type III), but still needs to be developed to work against a broader range of GBS types.

http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/news/newsreleases/2009/strepvax.htm

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