Chapter 4 – The Vagina and Vulva

Group B streptococcus (GBS)

Group B streptococcus is frequently isolated on high vaginal swabs. It is a commensal organism of the gastrointestinal and genital tract in up to 30 per cent of healthy women.(16) It is not generally considered a pathological cause of discharge except in pregnancy when it can cause early onset neonatal infection. Group B streptococcus is screened for antenatally and treated with IV intrapartum antibiotics.

Although group B streptococcus has been associated with symptomatic vulvovaginitis, other causes of vulvovaginitis are more common; other than in pregnancy, it is generally an incidental finding.(16)

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