Abstract

In autumn 2016, the UK Department of Health (now Department of Health and Social Care), convened two meetings to discuss how to address research evidence gaps in order to minimise the impact of infant Group B Streptococcal (GBS) disease in the United Kingdom. At this meeting, a number of research priorities were highlighted including: improvements in screening for GBS colonization in pregnant women and offering intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis, point of care testing and understanding the effect of widespread intrapartum antibiotic use on long term infant health. Further discussions involved investigating the feasibility of a large prospective study of pregnant women and their infants to understand the role of antibody in the protection against GBS disease in infancy following maternal exposure to GBS colonization. This viewpoint summarises the research uncertainties identified by this meeting.