Also known as Group B Streptococcus (GBS), Streptococcus agalactiae is associated with urinary tract infections and wound infections.
Urinary tract infections: Streptococcus agalactiae is increasingly recognized as a cause of UTIs in pregnant women, the elderly, and patients with diabetes. In pregnant individuals, its presence in the urinary tract is a marker for heavy genital tract colonization and increases the risk of neonatal infection. Its detection is essential for both patient management and public health implications (Flores et al. 2015, Mohanty et al. 2021).
Wound infections: Streptococcus agalactiae, is known for neonatal infections but is also implicated in adult skin and soft tissue infections. It is frequently isolated from diabetic foot ulcers and chronic wounds. GBS infections can progress rapidly and require timely antibiotic therapy, often penicillin-based (Raabe & Shane 2019, Akbari et al. 2023).
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Mohanty, S., Purohit, G., Rath, S., Seth, R. K., & Mohanty, R. R. (2021). Urinary tract infection due to Group B Streptococcus: A case series from Eastern India. Clinical case reports, 9(10), e04885. https://doi.org/10.1002/ccr3.4885
Raabe, V. N., & Shane, A. L. (2019). Group B Streptococcus (Streptococcus agalactiae). Microbiology spectrum, 7(2), 10.1128/microbiolspec.gpp3-0007-2018.
Akbari, M. S., Keogh, R. A., Radin, J. N., Sanchez-Rosario, Y., Johnson, M. D. L., Horswill, A. R., Kehl-Fie, T. E., Burcham, L. R., & Doran, K. S. (2023). The impact of nutritional immunity on Group B streptococcal pathogenesis during wound infection. mBio, 14(4), e0030423.
Leclercq, S. Y., Sullivan, M. J., Ipe, D. S., Smith, J. P., Cripps, A. W., & Ulett, G. C. (2016). Pathogenesis of Streptococcus urinary tract infection depends on bacterial strain and β-hemolysin/cytolysin that mediates cytotoxicity, cytokine synthesis, inflammation and virulence. Scientific reports, 6, 29000.
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