Our 2022  Group B Strep in Pregnancy & Babies Virtual Conference will be a must-attend event for anyone interested in group B Strep.

Group B Strep is the leading cause of neonatal sepsis, pneumonia and meningitis in the UK. Our two-day virtual conference will bring together leading international experts to talk about group B Strep, prevention policies, testing options, antibiotic usage, and the progress towards a GBS vaccine.

Our conference Chairs will be Edward Morris (President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and Chair of Trustees for Group B Strep Support) & Kathryn Gutteridge (immediate past President of the Royal College of Midwives and Trustee of Group B Strep Support).

Each day will cover different themes. Day One (12 July) will focus on epidemiology and vaccines, Day Two (13 July) will focus on testing and clinical practice.

The conference will be recorded, and the recordings will be available to those who register.

Who should attend? Anyone with an interest in group B Strep and maternity and neonatal care, including:

• Obstetricians
• Microbiologists
• Midwives
• Neonatologists
• Paediatricians
• Public Health Specialists
• GPs
• All Health Professionals
• Clinical Negligence Specialists
• Other interested people

Day 1 - Tuesday 12 July 2022

Full Programme:

09:00 – 09:05 Welcome and introduction – Dr Edward Morris
President of the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists, Chair of Group B Strep Support

09:05 – 09:45 Group B Strep: overview and history - Dr Carol J Baker
Professor of Pediatrics, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas, Sabin Gold Medal winner, National Academy of Sciences, USA

09:45 – 10:55 Session 1a: GBS Epidemiology – Chairs Dr Caroline Trotter, University of Cambridge and Dr Theresa Lamagni, UKHSA

09:45 – 10:15 – Dr Hannah Davies, St. Georges University of London, Neurodevelopmental Outcomes of Group B Streptococcus Infections
10:15 – 10:30 – Dr Alberto Berardi, University Hospital of Modena, Mode of transmission of group B Strep late-onset disease
10:30 – 10:45 – Dr Roberta Creti, Department of Infectious Diseases, Rome, Microbiological aspects of group B Strep late-onset disease
10:45 – 10:52 – Mrs Malene Risager Lykke, Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark, Invasive Group-B Streptococcus disease in the neonatal period and long-term risk of epilepsy – a population-based cohort study

10:55 - 11:20 BREAK

11:20 - 13:00  Session 1a: GBS Epidemiology (cont) 

11:20 – 11:30 – Parent Voice, Miss Rebecca Charlesworth
11:30 – 12:00 – Dr Simon Collin, UKHSA, Maternal invasive group B Strep infection in England 2016-2021
12:00 – 12:30 – Dr Emma McGuire, UKHSA, Antimicrobial resistance and group B Strep
12:30 – 12:37 – Dr Elita Jauneikaite, Imperial College London, Distribution of GBS protein vaccine targets in disease-causing GBS in the UK
12:37 – 13:00 – Panel Discussion

13:00 - 14:00 LUNCH BREAK

14:00 – 15:20 Session 1b: GBS Vaccines – Chairs Prof Paul Heath, St. Georges, University of London and Prof Shabir Madhi, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

14:00 – 14:10 – Parent Voice, Yoyo
14:10 – 14:35 – Dr Per Fischer, MinervaX, MinervaX group B Strep vaccine: supportive data, status and plans
14:35 – 15:00 – Dr Caroline Trotter, UKHSA, WHO: full value group B Strep vaccine assessment
15:00 – 15:10 – Dr Julia Rhodes, US CDC National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-led study to establish immunologic endpoints associated with protection against infant invasive group B streptococcal disease: methodology and updates

15:10 – 15:30 BREAK

15:30 - 17:20 Session 1b: GBS Vaccines (cont)

15:30 – 15:50 – Dr Kirsty Le Doare, St. George’s, University of London, Progress towards a correlate of protection: GASTON project
15:50 – 16:10 – Dr Pauline Paterson, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Acceptance, attitudes and lessons learned from other maternal vaccines
16:10 – 16:35 – Prof Shabir Madhi, University of the Witwatersrand, Potential efficacy of a maternal GBS vaccine: Bridging from immunogenicity to potential efficacy
16:35 – 16:45 – Mr Konstantinos Karampatsas, St George’s, University of London, Naturally acquired serotype-specific anti-GBS CPS IgG concentrations: A pilot UK prospective cohort study
16:45 – 17:15 – Panel Discussion

17:20 – 17:25 Summary and close: Dr Edward Morris

Day 2 - Wednesday 13 July 2022

09:00 – 09:05 Welcome and introduction: Dr Kathryn Gutteridge, immediate past President of the Royal College of Midwives

09:05 – 09:35 Keynote lecture: Group B Strep and maternity care. Professor Philip Steer, Imperial College.

09:35 – 10:50 Session 2a: GBS in practice (micro and testing) – Chairs Dr Gopal Rao, London North West University and Dr Jim Gray, Consultant Microbiologist at Birmingham Children’s and Women’s Hospitals

09:35 – 09:55 – Dr Albert Mifsud, UKHSA, Laboratory diagnosis of group B Strep infections and colonisation (provisional title)
09:55 – 10:15 – Dr Kathryn Guttridge, Consultant Midwife, Psychotherapist, Past President of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), A midwife’s role in group B Strep testing: practical advice from the swab to the birth plan
10:15 – 10:35 – Dr Gopal Rao, London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, A swab’s journey in the laboratory
10:35 – 10:42 – Ms Emelie Alsheim, University of Bath, Phospholipid vesicles for detection of maternal GBS carriage intrapartum
10:42 – 10:50 – Miss Debora da Costa Morato Nery, IMPG-UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Group B Streptococcus surveillance among pregnant women in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil over a period of 14 years (2008-2021)

10:50 – 11:20 BREAK

11:20 – 13:00 Session 2a: GBS in practice (micro and testing) (cont)

11:20 – 11:30 – Parent Voice, Mrs Eilidh Wise
11:30 – 11:45 – Dr Jim Gray, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, PCR – technology that has moved from exoticism to mainstream
11:45 – 12:00 – Prof Jane Daniels, University of Nottingham, PCR tests for GBS – evidence of accuracy
12:00 – 12:15 – Dr Mandip Hira, University Hospital Coventry, The challenges of setting up ECM testing in an NHS hospital (provisional title)
12:15 – 12:30 – Dr Miguel Gueimonde, Dairy Research Institute of Asturias, Spanish Research Council, Impact of Intrapartum prophylaxis on microbiota of mother and baby
12:30 – 13:00 – Panel Discussion

13:00 - 14:00 LUNCH BREAK

14:00 – 15:20 Session 2b: GBS in practice (clinical care) – Chairs Dr Kate Walker, University of Nottingham and Philippa Cox, Homerton University Hospital

14:00 – 14:10 – Parent Voice, Mrs Jo Spear
14:10 – 14:40 – Prof Jane Daniels, University of Nottingham, Knowledge, attitudes and acceptability of group B Strep testing in pregnancy
14:40 – 14:55 – Heidi Hollands, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, Experience of routine testing for group B Strep as part of the GBS3 trial – Enriched Culture Medium (ECM)
14:55 – 15:10 – Louise Swaminathan, Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, Introducing routine intrapartum rapid testing for group B Strep at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust: our experience (so far!)
15:10 – 15:20 – Dr Bonilla Nayar, London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, Incidence of maternal Group B Streptococcus (GBS) bacteraemia and clinical impact on mother and baby in a maternity unit in North West London

15:20 – 15:45 BREAK

15:45 – 17:20 Session 2b: GBS in practice (clinical care) (cont)

15:45 – 16:15 – Dr Kate Walker, University of Nottingham, Common questions from women about group B Strep and how to answer them
16:15 – 16:45 – Ms Selina Dubison, Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, GBS awareness week – learning together
16:45 – 16:52 – Dr Luca Bedetti, University Hospital of Modena, Rates of lumbar puncture after antibiotics in infants with sepsis: an Italian multicenter study
16:52 – 17:25 – Panel Discussion

17:25 – 17:30 Summary and close