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Written question asked by Ian Byrne (Labour) on Wednesday, 28 February 2024, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 5 March 2024 (named day). It was answered by Maria Caulfield (Conservative) on Tuesday, 5 March 2024 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Streptococcus: Preventive Medicine

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help prevent (a) death and (b) serious illness of (i) mothers and (ii) babies from Group B Streptococcal Infection.

Answer

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) plays a key role in combatting Group B Streptococcus (GBS) infection both through routine service activities and innovative research. Trends, characteristics, and outcomes of infection are monitored through surveillance, vital for prevention efforts, providing means to understand differential risk within our population, which has informed guidance change. Emergence of new strains is monitored at the reference laboratory, vital to understanding the potential vaccine coverage and escape once vaccines are licensed. Furthermore, genomic assessment of strains identified the presence clusters, an important finding highlighting the potential for spread of infection within hospitals.

The Vaccine Development and Evaluation Centre at UKHSA Porton Down is part of an international consortium funded by the Gates Foundation to develop standardised assays to quantify immune responses to GBS in natural immunity studies and vaccine trials.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
16233
Session
2023-24
Subjects
Babies Mothers Preventive medicine Pregnancy Streptococcus
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk