TITLE:
Risk Factors for Group B Streptococcus Colonization and Drugs Sensitivity Pattern in a Nigerian Obstetric Population
AUTHORS:
U. A. Ibrahim, A. A. Panti, Y. Mohammed, K. A. Tunau, A. Asma’u, J. G. Abubakar, A. A. Ladan
KEYWORDS:
Group B Streptococcus, Risk Factors, Drugs Susceptibility
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.11 No.6,
June
24,
2021
ABSTRACT: Background: Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is
a major cause of bacterial infections in the perinatal period, of which
colonization prevalence among Northern-Nigerian pregnant women is scarce. We
attempted to determine 1) its prevalence, 2) risk factors for GBS colonization and 3)
drugs-susceptibility. Methodology: This cross-sectional study involved 185 pregnant women between 35 - 37 weeks
of gestation at tertiary health center of Sokoto, Nigeria. Vaginal/rectal swabs were collected, were
cultured for GBS and tested for drug-susceptibilities. The study was
conducted between December, 2017 and April, 2018. Results: One hundred and eighty five
(185) pregnant women participated in this study. GBS vaginal-colonization-rate was
3.8% (7/185). A significance relationship was observed between GBS-colonization
and socio-economic class, as 57.10% (4/7) of the GBS positive women were of
low-socio economic class (p 0.035).
No associations were observed between GBS-colonization and the followings:
maternal age, parity, poor obstetric outcome-history. All the 7 GBS positive
cultures were sensitive to Clindamycin. One was sensitive to both Clindamycin
and Ceftriaxone. None was sensitive to Penicillin. Conclusion: The prevalence of GBS colonization was low in this area. Maternal
socio-economic class is found to be a risk of GBS-colonization.