[Sepsis in newborns due to group B streptococcus in Western Galilee Hospital Nahariya during the years 1996 to 2007--is there a place for universal screening in Israel?].

Unlabelled: Screening for Group B streptococcus (GBS) in pregnant women is controversial in Israel.
Objective: To investigate cases of neonatal sepsis due to GBS in Western Galilee Hospital Nahariya.
Method: We retrospectively evaluated 70,589 live births from 1996 to 2007.
Results: The number of cases of neonatal sepsis preceded by GBS bacteremia was 26, an incidence rate of 0.37/1000 live births. Of the newborns, 16 were male and 10 female. The median gestational age was 38 weeks (range: 25-42 weeks, STD: 3.27 weeks). The median birth weight was 2945 grams (range: 750-4000 grams, STD: 683 grams). Three of the newborns also had GBS in a CSF culture. Early onset GBS sepsis presented in 23 of the newborns (88%), compared to late onset in 3 (12%). Seventeen were Arabs (65%) and 9 Jews (35%). Three of the newborns, all females, died. One was with gestational age of 25 weeks and birth weight 750 grams. A second, with gestational age of 37 weeks, and birth weight 2945 grams, died from pneumonia and septic shock. The third, with gestational age 38 weeks and birth weight 2460 grams, died of meningitis and septic shock. Vaginal and rectal smears of mothers of the latter two newborns were negative for GBS at 30 weeks gestation.
Conclusion: Although the morbidity rate due to neonatal GBS sepsis is lower in the Western Galilee, Israel than in the U.S.A., the current policy in Israel of treating pregnant women at risk for GBS does not seem sufficient. General screening of pregnant women at 35-37 weeks of gestation should be considered.