Abstract
Group B streptococci (GBS) have in recent years emerged as an important cause of acute neonatal infection, with an incidence estimated at two to five cases per 1,000 live births in American and Australian studies. Since various reports indicate that between 5% and 30% of pregnant women carry GBS in the vagina at the time of delivery, factors other than direct exposure of the neonate to the organisms are required for initiation of sepsis. In the present study we have tested for GBS in vaginal cultures obtained from women in labour and for evidence of establishment of the mother's strain within the oral microbiota of the newborn. The rates of vaginal and pharyngeal carriage of GBS in healthy non-pregnant adults are also reported.