Diagnostic Testing & Technology Report

According to a study in the May 7 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, the incidence of group B streptococcus (GBS) increased nearly 50 percent among adults between 1999 and 2005. Despite the increase in people aged 15 to 64 years, GBS was found to have declined approximately 25 percent among infants younger than seven days in the same period. Revised in 2002, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines recommend the screening of all pregnant women for GBS at 35-37 weeks of pregnancy.