Calls for Group B Strep test on NHS

Kate Garraway, most recently spotted strutting her stuff on Strictly Come Dancing, has joined calls to make the Group B Strep test freely available to all pregnant women and save tiny lives.

The GMTV presenter was supporting Group B Strep Awareness Week, held last month, which aimed to show that up to three out of 10 pregnant women carry the group B Streptococcus (GBS) bacterium.

Most are unaware of this fact and know nothing about GBS, yet it is the most common cause of life-threatening infection in new-born babies in the UK, affecting 700 babies each year. The charity Group B Strep Support says that if expectant mothers were routinely tested for GBS, doctors could prevent over 80 per cent of GBS infections. New research has shown that routine testing for GBS could save the Government £37 million a year.

GBS infection causes meningitis, septicaemia and pneumonia. Every year in the UK it kills 75 babies and leaves 40 with serious long-term mental or physical problems. GBS infection can usually be prevented by giving antibiotics during labour to women whose babies are most at risk of developing infection.

Kate Garraway says: “I was tested for GBS when I was expecting my daughter Darcey and would definitely be tested again in any future pregnancies. It was by chance that I knew about GBS - tragically someone I know lost a baby to a GBS infection.”

GBS testing is available privately and costs around £32. Group B Strep Support is campaigning for every pregnant woman in the UK to be offered a reliable test for GBS on the NHS. According to new medical research, testing all pregnant women plus treating those found to be at higher risk, would not only save lives but would save the Government £37 million a year.

Jane Plumb, who founded Group B Strep Support after losing her second son, Theo, to GBS infection in 1996 said: “Routine testing for GBS is in everyone’s interests - it would save babies’ lives and research has shown that it would cut Government spending. The test is a standard part of antenatal care in many countries, but the British Government and the NHS are letting young families down.”



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