Over a hundred thousand babies are stillborn every year across the world, or die shortly after birth. A new vaccine that targets a common infection many pregnant women can contract might be a groundbreaking way to cut into that horrible number.
Group B streptococcus, or GBS, has not been adequately detailed until recently, or taken very seriously as a cause of these baby deaths. Worldwide, in excess of twenty million women carry the bacteria formerly considered benign. It is no longer considered routine or not of note; now scientists and doctors know it has numerous deadly effects. It’s a major cause of stillbirth, meningitis, and septicaemia.
Numerous research studies and papers have been published, and the numbers they tabulate are shocking. Over half a million cases of disease or infant stillbirth or death are caused by GBS yearly. About twenty percent of all pregnant women have the bacteria present, and are at risk for both themselves and their baby.
While antibiotics are currently being used to treat against the bacteria in some countries, a vaccine is a better choice because it would make effective measures possible in all countries. A vaccine would be cheaper and more widely available. World health authorities are currently working to focus efforts on finding and making available just such a vaccine.
Read more to find out how a single vaccine could save hundreds of thousands of babies each year. #HealthStatus
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Key Points:
- 1A vaccine to deal with group B streptococcus could prevent more than a hundred thousand baby deaths and stillbirths every year.
- 2Over twenty million women have GBS bacteria present, and it can complicate delivery and life expectancy if their newborns.
- 3Vaccine treatment against GBS would be cheaper and more readily available than current after-the-fact antibiotic based treatments.
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