Group B Streptococcus

EDM number 1211 in 2002-03, proposed by David Cameron on 14/05/2003.

That this House notes that an estimated 3,500 mothers in the UK in the last five years have suffered the pain and trauma of their baby developing life-threatening Group B Streptococcal (GBS) infections, including septicaemia, pneumonia and meningitis; further notes that approximately 500 of these sick babies have died, and a further 200 of the survivors have been left with consequences including brain damage; recognises that GBS infections and deaths can be drastically reduced by adopting screening programmes for all pregnant women and taking precautionary action, usually giving intravenous anti-biotics during labour to women found to carry GBS and those with recognised risk factors; understands that screening programmes and other measures have been adopted and found to work in other European countries and the US; and calls on the Government to investigate instigating similar schemes in the UK as a matter of urgency.

This motion has been signed by a total of 229 MPs, 1 of these signatures have been withdrawn.