Comparison of culture with two different qPCR assays for detection of rectovaginal carriage of Streptococcus agalactiae (group B streptococci) in pregnant women

In conclusion, for prenatal screening of GBS from rectovaginal samples of pregnant women, our results are in accordance with CDC guidelines, which suggest using qPCR after Lim broth enrichment in addition to conventional (culture-based) detection. qPCR after Lim broth enrichment further increased the percentage of GBS-positive women, as detected by direct qPCR, from 27 to 33%, although the bacterial inoculum was low for these subjects.