Investigators: A/Prof Christopher Blyth, Dr Daniel Yeoh, Dr Lucy Furfaro, Ginger Hilpipre
Project description
Invasive Group B Streptococcus (GBS) bacteria remains the leading cause of severe infection in neonates. 1 in 1000 babies born in Australia will experience a GBS infection, with 10% succumbing to the illness and up to 20% of survivors experiencing long-term health complications. The use of antibiotics during labour based on maternal screening results has helped reduce the burden of neonatal GBS illness, however, to limit antibiotic exposure during pregnancy, further preventative strategies should be considered. Maternal GBS vaccines are currently in development, but selection of an effective vaccine capable of preventing neonatal disease will rely on knowledge of local invasive GBS characteristics - data which is currently lacking.
Previous research has analysed GBS strains colonising pregnant Western Australian (WA) women, focusing on carriage rather than disease. Our project provides the complementary counterpart by characterising ~150 invasive GBS isolates collected from WA infants in 2006-2020 via whole genome sequencing (WGS). This will provide details of important genes relevant to understanding antibiotic resistance, virulence, epidemiology (capsule and sequence type), and presence of vaccine targets. Our sequencing results will determine predominant invasive GBS characteristics which will be compared to other local and international datasets, assisting future vaccine selection tailored to the local population.
External collaborators
- Perth Children’s Hospital
- University of Western Australia
- PathWest
Funders
- Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccine and Infectious Diseases