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Written question asked by Peter Bottomley (Conservative) on Friday, 2 December 2016, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 6 December 2016. It was answered by Philip Dunne (Conservative) on Monday, 12 December 2016 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Babies: Streptococcus

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what comparative assessment he has made of the change in the rate of babies becoming infected with group B streptococus in the UK relative to the change in the rate in (a) the US, (b) Canada, (c) Germany, (d) France and (e) Spain in the last 10 years.

Answer

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) does not recommend screening for group B streptococcus. In the United Kingdom Public Health England laboratory voluntary surveillance reports show that the early onset group B streptococcus (EOGBS) rate has fluctuated with slight increases in recent years and estimate this has increased from 0.37 to 0.44/1000 live births between 2006 and 2015.

The current UK NSC evidence review estimates that the rate in term women is approximately 0.41/1000 live term births. A 2013 report from the USA reported that the rate in term women was 0.21/ 1000 live births.

Comparison of the rate in term women is important as this is the group that will be affected by screening. However it is difficult to make comparision with areas in which screening has been implemented as the majority do no report EOGBS by gestation.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
56038
Session
2016-17
Subjects
Babies Streptococcus
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk