An Initial Survey on the Prevalence of Group B Streptococcus (GBS) among Yemeni Pregnant Women in Sana'a City

BACKGROUND: Infection with group B Streptococcus (GBS) is still a neonatal life-threatening illness, especially in developing countries such as Yemen. OBJECTIVE: This study was aimed at determining the vaginal colonization rate and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of GBS among Yemeni pregnant women. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study over a four-month period involving 210 pregnant women at the 35th to 39th gestational weeks who visited Gaza medical center in Sana'a city, Yemen. The collected vaginal swab specimen was inoculated in the Todd-Hewitt enrichment broth and incubated for 24 h and then subcultured on a 5% human blood agar plate. All positive cultures identified as GBS were subjected to antibiotic susceptibility tests using the disk diffusion method. RESULTS: Out of 210 recruited pregnant women, 23 (10.95%) were GBS vaginal carriers. All GBS isolates were sensitive to penicillin, ampicillin, levofloxacin, cefotaxime, and vancomycin. CONCLUSION: Based on the study's results, approximately eleven out of every 100 pregnant women in Sana'a city are vaginally colonized by GBS. Beta-lactam antibiotics remain the drug of choice to treat and prevent GBS infections. A prenatal screening policy is urgently needed for Yemeni pregnant women.