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. 2021 Oct 13;224(7):1170-1178.
doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiaa110.

Burden of Adults Hospitalized With Group B Streptococcal Infection

John M McLaughlin  1 , Paula Peyrani  1 , Stephen Furmanek  2 , Farid L Khan  1 , Angela Quinn  1 , Luis Jodar  1 , Julio Ramirez  2 , David L Swerdlow  1
Affiliations

Burden of Adults Hospitalized With Group B Streptococcal Infection

John M McLaughlin et al. J Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: The burden of noninvasive group B Streptococcus (GBS) infections in adults is unknown. We determined population-based rates of hospitalization where invasive or noninvasive GBS infections were identified among US adults in a defined catchment area.

Methods: We identified adults with clinical and laboratory-confirmed evidence of GBS infection from January 2014 through December 2016 from 6 hospitals in Louisville, Kentucky. Invasive disease was defined as GBS isolated from a normally sterile site.

Results: Among 1076 adults with GBS infection, the median age was 52 years, 51% were male, and 89% had ≥1 chronic medical condition. The most prevalent infection sites were skin and soft tissue (39%), urinary tract (23%), bone and joint (16%), and bloodstream (11%). Forty percent of infections were polymicrobial. The annual incidence of GBS-associated hospitalization was 73 per 100 000 adults and 68 and 100 per 100 000 for patients aged 18-64 and ≥ 65 years, respectively. For every invasive GBS infection, 3.7 noninvasive infections occurred.

Conclusions: Our population-based study outlines the full burden of GBS-associated hospitalization in adults and found incidence rates comparable to those of pneumococcal disease, where vaccines are recommended. Noninvasive disease was 3-4 times more common than invasive disease, suggesting that the GBS burden among adults is considerably greater than previously recognized.

Keywords: Group B Streptococcus (GBS); adults; epidemiology; incidence; noninvasive; risk factor.

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