RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Moraleda, Cinta A1 Benmessaoud, Rachid A1 Esteban, Jessica A1 López, Yuly A1 Alami, Hassan A1 Barkat, Amina A1 Houssain, Tligui A1 Kabiri, Meryem A1 Bezad, Rachid A1 Chaacho, Saad A1 Madrid, Lola A1 Vila, Jordi A1 Muñoz-Almagro, Carmen A1 Bosch, Jordi A1 Soto, Sara M. A1 Bassat, QuiqueYR 2018 T1 Prevalence, antimicrobial resistance and serotype distribution of group B streptococcus isolated among pregnant women and newborns in Rabat, Morocco JF Journal of Medical Microbiology, VO 67 IS 5 SP 652 OP 661 DO https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.000720 PB Microbiology Society, SN 1473-5644, AB Purpose. Group B streptococcus (GBS) is an important cause of neonatal sepsis worldwide. Data on the prevalence of maternal GBS colonization, risk factors for carriage, antibiotic susceptibility and circulating serotypes are necessary to tailor adequate locally relevant public health policies. Methodology. A prospective study including pregnant women and their newborns was conducted between March and July 2013 in Morocco. We collected clinical data and vagino-rectal and urine samples from the recruited pregnant women, together with the clinical characteristics of, and body surface samples from, their newborns. Additionally, the first three newborns admitted every day with suspected invasive infection were recruited for a thorough screening for neonatal sepsis. Serotypes were characterized by molecular testing. Results. A total of 350 pregnant women and 139 of their newborns were recruited. The prevalence of pregnant women colonized by GBS was 24 %. In 5/160 additional sick newborns recruited with suspected sepsis, the blood cultures were positive for GBS. Gestational hypertension and vaginal pruritus were significantly associated with a vagino-rectal GBS colonization in univariate analyses. All of the strains were susceptible to penicillin, while 7 % were resistant to clindamycin and 12 % were resistant to erythromycin. The most common GBS serotypes detected included V, II and III. Conclusion. In Morocco, maternal GBS colonization is high. Penicillin can continue to be the cornerstone of intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis. A pentavalent GBS vaccine (Ia, Ib, II, III and V) would have been effective against the majority of the colonizing cases in this setting, but a trivalent one (Ia, Ib and III) would only prevent 28 % of the cases., UL https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.000720