A new report published by WHO and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine indicates that the bacteria can be transmitted in the uterus, during childbirth or in the first weeks of life and also causes more than half a million premature births and a significant long-term disability.

“This new research shows that group B streptococci pose a major and underrated threat to the survival and well-being of newborns, with devastating consequences for so many families worldwide,” Dr. Phillipp Lambach, of the WHO’s Immunization Division and author of the report, said in a statement.

Faced with this situation, the WHO called for the urgent development of a maternal GBS vaccine, “which would have major benefits in countries around the world.”

For the first time an international study quantifies the important contribution of GBS to premature births, as well as to neurological deficiencies (cerebral palsy, hearing and vision loss) that can occur after infections associated with the bacteria.

The data collected indicates that on average 15 percent of pregnant women worldwide, almost 20 million a year, carry the GBS bacteria in their vaginas, mostly without any symptoms.

Currently, antibiotic prophylaxis administered to the woman during childbirth is the main means of preventing GBS disease in newborns, if the bacteria are detected during pregnancy.

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