Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is the most common cause of neonatal sepsis, infecting around 1 in 2000 babies. It currently carries a mortality rate of 10% and a significant morbidity rate of 30%. By giving intrapartum intravenous antibiotics to women who are GBS positive we can reduce the risk of the baby developing the infection by up to 80%. However, current strategies to identify which mothers need antibiotics are ambiguous and unreliable.

We undertook a Test Accuracy and Acceptability research study that looked at intrapartum rapid testing for maternal GBS status. The rapid diagnostic tests we investigated were Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and Optical Immune Assay (OIA). The aim was to assess whether these two tests allowed identification of women whose babies are at risk more quickly.