Group B 𝘚𝘡𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘡𝘰𝘀𝘰𝘀𝘀𝘢𝘴 Infection

General Information

Bacteria called group B Streptococcus (GBS) commonly live in people’s gastrointestinal and genital tracts. Most of the time the bacteria are not harmful and do not make people feel sick or have any symptoms. Sometimes the bacteria invade the body and cause certain infections, which are known as GBS disease. GBS disease is more common in newborns.

Currently, no vaccine is licensed for the prevention of GBS.

Transmission

The route of transmission is unknown. However, babies could get GBS during the first week of life of exposed to it during the delivery.

Symptoms

GBS bacteria can cause many types of infections:

  • Bacteraemia (bloodstream infection) and sepsis (the body’s extreme response to an infection)
  • Bone and joint infections
  • Meningitis (infection of the tissue covering the brain and spinal cord)
  • Pneumonia (lung infection)
  • Skin and soft-tissue infections

Babies may have long-term problems, such as deafness and developmental disabilities, due to having GBS disease.

Epidemiology

On average, about 1 in 20 non-pregnant adults with serious GBS infections dies.

Vaccines Pipeline

1
Vaccines in
the pipeline

IMMUNISATION TECHNOLOGY

Glycoconjugate vaccine (1)

DEVELOPMENT PHASES

Phase III (1)

TRIAL POPULATION

Adults (1)

Source:
CDC. Group B Strep Disease. 2024. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/group-b-strep/index.html.
[Accessed: August 2025]