Epidemiology of Group B streptococcus isolated from pregnant women in Beijing, China

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) was the main causative organism of invasive infections in newborns due to vertical transmission from the colonized mothers. The study was undertaken to determine colonization rate, serotype distribution, genotypic characterization, antibiotic susceptibility profiles and molecular characteristics of erythromycin-resistant strains of GBS in pregnant women in Beijing, China. Vaginal-rectal swabs were collected from a total of 2850 pregnant women at 35-37 weeks of gestation, in which 7.1% were GBS positive. Serotypes III, Ia and V predominated. All isolates were penicillin susceptible, whereas the resistance rates for erythromycin and clindamycin were strikingly high.