The special one-day event raised awareness of group B Strep prevention, treatment and impact, and spotlighted the latest research to over 400 delegates, including midwives, doctors and others involved in maternity and neonatal services.
We kicked off the day with Hannah and Tim Taylor-Smith, who shared the story of their baby son Zach. He died from group B Strep infection after “total and complete failings in hospital care.” Later in the day, Natalie Lockyer shared her story; she also sadly lost her daughter Quinn who died of late-onset group B Strep infection at 10 weeks old.
Their powerful stories brought home to everyone the tragic impact of group B Strep on parents and families. These experiences highlight the need for information about group B Strep, antenatal testing for group B Strep carriage and knowing the signs of the infection in babies.
We had 15 talks from experts in the field – our CEO, Jane Plumb, summarised the situation to date, both in the UK and around the world, in terms of the incidence of group B Strep infection, its impact and approaches to prevention. Other highlights of the day were exciting developments on group B Strep vaccines from Prof Paul Heath, Professor of Paediatric Infectious Diseases and Prof Kirsty Le Doare, Professor of Vaccinology and Immunology, updates on the group B Strep vaccines currently in development Pfizer and Minervax, including the latest safety and efficacy studies.
Prof Kate Walker, Professor of Obstetrics shared an update on the GBS3 Trial, the results of which are due Summer 2025. These will show whether antenatal or in-labour testing for group B Strep carriage is better at reducing early-onset group B Strep infection in babies than the current risk-based approach. We await the findings with much anticipation.
Prof Shalini Ojha summarised the implications of antenatal testing for a baby and research midwife Phern Adams presented a valuable session on ‘What midwives need to be discussing with pregnant women and birthing people?.’ We were fortunate to finish the day with a special talk from the Godmother of group B Strep prevention, Dr Carol J Baker. She spoke about ‘What the Future Holds for perinatal group B Strep.’
Dr Theresa Lamagni, Senior Epidemiologist at UKHSA shared the latest data on the incidence of group B Strep infection in England, Prof Gordon Smith summarised his latest groundbreaking research on detecting group B Strep at birth, and Prof Philip Steer provided us with the latest data on group B Strep prophylaxis and the microbiome. And Dr Erzsébet Horváth-Puhó gave an enlightening presentation on research showing long-term health consequences for mothers of children who had invasive group B Strep disease.
Panel sessions hosted by Dr Alison Bedford Russell, Dr Kathryn Gutteridge, Prof Philip Steer and Prof Asma Khalil sparked great discussions and insightful questions from our attendees about research, informed choice and testing.
It was brilliant to witness everyone’s passion for eradicating group B Strep infection and the collective support for a maternal vaccine. GBSS CEO Jane Plumb said: “Our 2024 conference was again a must-attend event for anyone interested in group B Strep. We brought together leading experts to discuss prevention policies, testing options, antibiotic usage, and the progress towards a GBS vaccine. The engagement from the audience and the quality of speakers made it exceptional.”
The sessions were all recorded, and will be available to delegates until 14 September 2024. You can buy post-event tickets here.
