New Test Detects Strep Infections in Pregnant Women More Quickly
Doctors in Quebec said Wednesday that they have developed a test that can detect 97% of group B streptococcal infections in pregnant women within 45 minutes. The standard test takes at least 36 hours. Their finding, published in today’s New England Journal of Medicine, is important because group B strep, found in up to 40% of pregnant women, is a leading cause of death among newborns.
In 1998, the infection struck an estimated 2,000 babies in the United States, producing tissue destruction, meningitis or pneumonia. That year, it killed about 100. Those who survive an infection face a higher risk of vision problems, hearing difficulties and mental retardation. The new test will allow physicians to give antibiotics only to infected mothers, not to all untested women, as is now the practice.
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--Compiled by Times medical writer Thomas H. Maugh II
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