Update of the characteristics of Group B Streptococci (GBS) colonizing pregnant women in Belgium: capsular-type distribution, pili characterization, antimicrobial susceptibility profile and Multiple Locus Sequence Types.

Aim: Improving knowledge and characterization of GBS strains colonizing pregnant women in Belgium. Methods: In 2013, collection of 387 strains of GBS from 80 laboratories participating in a national survey among pregnant woman. For each strain, determination of capsular-polysaccharide type agglutination and PCR, of pili-type by PCR and of antimicrobial susceptibility by disk-diffusion, broth-microdilution and detection of resistant genes by PCR. For serotype III strains, determination sequence-type by Multiple-Locus Sequence-Typing (MLST). Results: Serotype III was the most prevalent (28.5%) f... Mehr ...