Here is something that will shock you a fresh research by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, has revealed some shocking details about pregnant women in India. As per their recent report , they found that almost 24 lakh (24,66,500) pregnant mothers in India suffer from Group B Streptococcus (GBS) or commonly called Strep bacteria.
-Incidentally, most of these expecting mums are either unidentified or medically untreated.The survey also made some more revelations as reported by Deccan Chronicle.
-Globally, one in five pregnant women carry the GBS bacteria which is a major cause of maternal and infant ill health.
-Around 21.7 million pregnant women carry the Group B Strep bacteria
-These numbers reportedly include: India (2,466,500), China (1,934,900), Nigeria (1,060,000), the US (942,800) and Indonesia (799,100)
-This bacterium reportedly causes "nearly 150,000 stillbirths and infant deaths globally"
-Researchers also shared with the daily,
-"Antibiotics currently prevent an estimated 29,000 cases of early-onset Group B Streptococcal disease per year."
-Globally, one in five pregnant women carry the GBS bacteria which is a major cause of maternal and infant ill health.
-Around 21.7 million pregnant women carry the Group B Strep bacteria
-These numbers reportedly include: India (2,466,500), China (1,934,900), Nigeria (1,060,000), the US (942,800) and Indonesia (799,100)
-This bacterium reportedly causes "nearly 150,000 stillbirths and infant deaths globally"
-Researchers also shared with the daily, "Antibiotics currently prevent an estimated 29,000 cases of early-onset Group B Streptococcal disease per year."
What is the treatment for an expecting mum?
There are a few steps of treatment based on the extent of pregnancy. For women who have just stepped into their pregnancy and are found to be positive, intravenous antibiotics are usually recommended, at the time of delivery. This is not done during pregnancy because GBS is found to grow back and so its elimination can only be done during labour. Similarly for women who have premature labour, they are also administered antibiotics. Remember, without antibiotics almost one in a 100 and sometimes 200 child survives with GBS bacterium. So is it possible to prevent this infection? The answer is, yes! With routine pregnancy scans and tests, doctors can identify GBS bacterium in an expecting mum and prevent it from spreading further and to their newborn.
