A £40 DIY kit that can save babies: Pregnant women can now screen themselves at home for deadly Group B Strep bacterium

  • Doctors have welcomed screen kit for the deadly Group B Strep bacterium
  • It lives harmlessly in adults but can trigger deadly illnesses in babies
  • UK is one of the few countries not to offer routine testing or warn mothers 
  • The bacterium can cause meningitis, sepsis or pneumonia in newborns

By Eve Mcgowan For The Mail On Sunday

Published: 17:03 EST, 4 February 2017 | Updated: 17:12 EST, 4 February 2017

Pregnant women are now able to buy Britain’s first DIY test for a potentially fatal but symptomless infection that kills one newborn a week.

Campaigners and doctors have welcomed the introduction of the screening kit, which is now at selected high street pharmacies for £39.99, as well as online.

The availability of the kit means that for the first time expectant mothers will be able to check whether they are carriers of Group B Strep (GBS) bacterium – which lives harmlessly inside adults but can be passed to babies during childbirth and trigger deadly illnesses.

Tested positive: Rebecca Hathaway-White, from Fleet, Hampshire, bought a kit, tested positive, so had antibiotics and gave birth to healthy baby Phoebe 

The UK is one of the few developed countries not to offer routine testing. Jane Plumb, chief executive of charity Group B Strep Support, said: ‘Women are not even routinely told about it.’

And Dr Bryan Beattie, a senior NHS consultant in foetal medicine, said: ‘It’s a ridiculous situation where, if we find that a mum has GBS we treat it but we’re not going to look for it.’

He believes the £40 kits will save lives. ‘They will be on the shelves next to pregnancy-test kits so mums will realise it’s something else they need to think about. It’s going to have a huge impact on awareness.’

One in four pregnant women carries the GBS bacteria. Carriers are not at risk but it can be transmitted to the baby during labour.

In newborns, GBS can cause meningitis, sepsis or pneumonia.

There are more than 500 cases a year and one a week dies from the infection. A woman can find out whether she is a carrier via a swab done at about 36 weeks.

A positive result means antibiotics are given during labour, reducing the risk of transmission by 80 per cent.

The UK is one of the only countries not to offer routine testing but this £40 at home kit will give mothers to be the ability to check if they are carriers. File image

The Strepelle test is designed to detect GBS with an accuracy rate of 99 per cent.

The pregnant woman sends her completed test to a laboratory and the results are sent back via text message within three working days.

If the result is positive, a letter is also sent.

Hampshire mother-of-three Rebecca Hathaway-White, 35, took the test during her third pregnancy and it came back positive. She received antibiotics intravenously during labour and gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Phoebe, four months ago.

‘I heard about Group B Strep from a friend who lost one of her twins just after birth to it, so I decided to take the test.

‘It couldn’t be easier to do,’ says Rebecca, who also has two older children Archie, four, and Esme, two.

The UK National Screening Committee rejected pleas to make screening standard in 2012, but it is currently reviewing that decision and is expected to report back next month.

  • strepelle.com. For more information about GBS, visit gbss.org.uk.

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