About - Group B Strep Support | HealthUnlocked

This is a community dedicated to helping those affected by group B Strep (GBS).

GBS is a common bacterium that lives in 20-30% of adults, usually with no symptoms or side-effects. Most commonly found in the intestines, it can also live in the vagina of adult women. It is a ‘commensal’ – an organism that lives on another without causing harm.

GBS can cause infection, most often in newborn babies. It more rarely causes infection in adults (typically women during pregnancy or after birth, the elderly and those with serious underlying medical conditions causing impaired immune system).

Although relatively uncommon, GBS is the most common cause of infection in newborn babies and of meningitis in babies under age 3 months. On average in the UK, one baby a day develops GBS infection - one baby a week dies and one survivor a fortnight has long-term disability.