Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019 Nov 28;37(50):7391-7393.
doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.09.087. Epub 2018 Feb 2.

Maternal immunization against Group B streptococcus: World Health Organization research and development technological roadmap and preferred product characteristics

Johan Vekemans  1 , Vasee Moorthy  2 , Martin Friede  2 , Mark R Alderson  3 , Ajoke Sobanjo-Ter Meulen  4 , Carol J Baker  5 , Paul T Heath  6 , Shabir A Madhi  7 , Kirsty Mehring-Le Doare  8 , Samir K Saha  9 , Stephanie Schrag  10 , David C Kaslow  3
Affiliations
Review

Maternal immunization against Group B streptococcus: World Health Organization research and development technological roadmap and preferred product characteristics

Johan Vekemans et al. Vaccine. .

Abstract

Group B streptococcus, found in the vagina or lower gastrointestinal tract of about 10-40% of women of reproductive age, is a leading cause of early life invasive bacterial disease, potentially amenable to prevention through maternal immunization during pregnancy. Following a consultation process with global stakeholders, the World Health Organization is herein proposing priority research and development pathways and preferred product characteristics for GBS vaccines, with the aim to facilitate and accelerate vaccine licensure, policy recommendation for wide scale use and implementation.

Keywords: Group B streptococcus; Maternal immunization; Vaccine.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Baker C.J., Kasper D.L. Correlation of maternal antibody deficiency with susceptibility to neonatal group B streptococcal infection. N Engl J Med. 1976 Apr 1;294(14):753–756. - PubMed
    1. Vornhagen J., Adams Waldorf K.M., Rajagopal L. Perinatal Group B streptococcal infections: virulence factors, immunity, and prevention strategies. Trends Microbiol. 2017 pii: S0966-842X(17)30127-0. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bekker V., Bijlsma M.W., van de Beek D., Kuijpers T.W., van der Ende A. Incidence of invasive group B streptococcal disease and pathogen genotype distribution in newborn babies in the Netherlands over 25 years: a nationwide surveillance study. Lancet Infect Dis. 2014;14:1083–1089. - PubMed
    1. O'Sullivan C., Lamagni T., Efstratiou A., Patel D., Cunney R., Meehan M. Group B Streptococcal (GBS) disease in UK and Irish infants younger than 90 days, 2014–2015. Arch Dis Childhood. 2016;101(Suppl. 1):A2. - PubMed
    1. Heath P.T. Status of vaccine research and development of vaccines for GBS. Vaccine. 2016;34(26):2876–2879. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances