What are the symptoms of infection with Streptococcus agalactiae

Streptococcus agalactiae is a pathogen that causes mastitis. This is a zoonotic pathogen that can be carried and transmitted by flies, causing infection in newborns and illness in adults. For example, when a newborn passes through the birth canal, it may cause infection, which can manifest as pneumonia, or even cause meningitis and sepsis. This is very harmful to the newborn, and the mortality rate is relatively high.

Clinical manifestations

Streptococcus agalactiae colonies are off-white, moist, and easily emulsified.

It can be divided into two categories: neonatal infection and adult infection .

1. Early onset is caused by bacterial infection in the birth canal. Onset within 7 days after birth. It often manifests as lung infection, sepsis and meningitis. Those with early onset experience respiratory distress at birth. The mortality rate is very high, often between 50% and 80%, and the deaths are mostly caused by type II bacteria.

2. Late-stage disease is mostly caused by postpartum complications of the mother. Occurs within 7 to 30 days after birth. Sepsis and meningitis are the most common. The most common bacterial type is type III, especially meningitis, which is caused by type III in more than 90% of cases. The mortality rate is lower than that of early-stage patients. The mortality rate of meningitis is about 14%.

3. Young women are prone to Streptococcus B urinary tract infection and endometritis during gynecological examinations, treatments, and after pregnancy and childbirth. Pneumonia, meningitis, liver abscess, sepsis, etc. may also occur. Older people, especially those with certain chronic diseases, and both men and women can be infected. The same is true for those who receive antibiotics, hormones, or other immunosuppressants for a longer period of time. The mortality rate is high, with some reports ranging from 29% to 52%. According to Schlievert et al., in 4 patients with clinical manifestations of TSLS, only group B streptococci were cultured without group A streptococci and staphylococci. A pyrogenic toxin was extracted from bacterial culture and was insensitive to anti-TSLS-1 and anti-SPE antibodies. This suggests that group B bacteria also produce toxins that can cause TSLS.

treat

Group B Streptococci are sensitive to penicillins, cephalosporins, and erythromycin, but their sensitivity is lower than that of group A Streptococci. Some people have suggested that the dose of penicillin should be increased to 200,000 to 250,000 U/(kg·d), and the course of treatment can be appropriately extended. Some people also advocate the combined use of penicillin and aminoglycoside antibiotics to achieve good results. There are already vaccines for type Ⅰa, Ⅱ and Ⅲ bacterial antigens. If they are administered to pregnant women, the specific IgG antibodies produced can protect the fetus through the placenta and can significantly reduce the early onset of diseases in newborns.