Written question asked by Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 8 March 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 13 March 2012. It was answered by Anne Milton (Conservative) on Tuesday, 13 March 2012 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Streptococcus: Pregnant Women

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what consideration he has given to routinely offering Enriched Culture Method tests to pregnant women to detect Group B Streptococcus infection;

Answer: The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises Ministers and the national health service in all four United Kingdom countries about all aspects of screening policy, including, screening policy for Group B Streptococcus (GBS) carriage in pregnancy. The UK NSC is currently reviewing the evidence for screening for GBS carriage in pregnancy using the enriched culture medium test against its criteria. A public consultation on the screening review will open in spring 2012.

Secondary information