Almost half of all deaths in children under five-years-of-age happen in the first month of life. One of the leading causes of these deaths is from a bacterial organism called Streptococcus agalactiae, also known as Group B strep. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rates of this infection in the world – and one in five babies will not survive the illness. Ziyaad Dangor and Sanjay Lala explain how this infection is managed and what could be done to save more lives.
What is Group B strep and how big a threat is it?
Streptococcus agalactiae, also known as Group B streptococcus, is the most common bacterial cause of illness in newborn babies around the world. It causes more deaths in the first month of life than HIV, tetanus or pertussis. A third of the survivors will develop a physical or mental disability. Read more…
